The Trouble With Time
by MandyTrimm
Summary: Mandy has a secret, one she didn't even know she was keeping. Haunted by her past she is gripped by fear and struggles to hold onto her humanity. The Doctor has always known time was wibbly but when his future self drops in to warn him that his past is being altered their companions must work together to help the only person who can save them. Mandy. But can the Doctor save her?
1. Abduction

**Author's Note: To all of my new readers, welcome! I'm so happy you decided to give my story a chance. You'll find my story switches from 1****st**** person to 3****rd**** person once and a while. It may seem a bit different but I believe you'll find it works.**

**This story has been going through a rewrite process. From now on I'll post when I've done any editing to the chapters. Some of the changes may be minor, some a bit more major. So be sure to browse through the chapters when you see an update note to be sure you don't miss the changes. These could be critical to the story making sense in the future.**

**Visit my site for more fan-fictions, book covers, and extras: poison candy . weebly . com**

**Visit my deviantArt for all my Doctor Who art: mandy trimm . deviant art . com**

**Chapter Update: 4/4/13**

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**CHAPTER ONE: ABDUCTION**

**xxxMANDYxxx**

"Shayyyyye!" I giggled into the phone.

"_What? I like your boobs_," my best friend laughed on the other line.

I was walking home and Shaye always kept me company on the long dark walk. I worked at the local bar as a waitress. We were currently discussing my boob tips, by boob tips I mean tips made in a bar from gentlemen who simply tip me for my two perky 36Ds whether I served them or not.

"I know you do but that's not the point. I love the money but hate the reason for it!" I say exasperatedly.

"_I know, but you can't blame 'em! I'd tip you extra. Look, you're all curves and smiles. Guys like you cause your five foot, always happy, and have a 42, 26, 36," _I groaned and wondered how she knew my exact measurements,_ "it's a winning hand. Just be thankful you get the money to pay your bills. I'm barely squeezing by_."

I passed by a pitch black alley and glanced at it cautiously. The problem with my job was the hours. A twenty-one year old woman as little as I was walking home at two o'clock in the morning was less than intelligent, it was downright stupid. But I had to get back and forth every day somehow.

I'd been doing this for three months now and hadn't had any problems but that didn't keep me from being on edge anyways. I wasn't as worried with Shaye on the other line. If I was in trouble she had her cell phone on speed dial straight to the police. So far there had been no need for it, thankfully. I brushed my shoulder length brown hair out of my eyes.

"_So where are you?_" I heard Shaye ask on the other end.

"On Grande St. I'm heading to the cross roads of Grande and Main."

I didn't notice the man and woman hidden in the shadows of the alley as I passed. Nor did I notice the lizard-like creature crawling on the wall of the buildings high above me. I thought I heard a growling sound and turned to look behind me. My green eyes peered into the darkness but caught no movement.

"That's weird…" I mumbled into the phone.

"_What?_" Shaye asks quickly.

"I thought I heard… nothing. So what's with you and Jake lately, hm?" I ask continuing my walk.

"_Oh, well. You know. We've just been hanging out… He's just not…_"

I knew the pause well. He just wasn't me. I sighed. Shaye and I had been friends for years. She was eleven when I'd first met her. I was twelve. It was sisters at first sight. We'd been inseparable until seven months ago. Shaye and I had drunk a little too much one night and realised how deep our feelings were for each other during a long drunken conversation. In the heat of the moment our feelings tripled and things got… out of hand.

We'd developed into a relationship beyond friends and it had been an amazing one. At least until Shaye had gotten a call from her father that he had been in an accident and needed her to move in with him. So six months ago she moved to a different city, four hours away, and I found a well paid job at the bar. Now we talked every day and every night. Both of us hoped to find someone else and move on but neither of us seemed to be able to find any person who could fill the gap in our hearts yet.

"…_I really miss you, Mandy,_" I heard the tears in her voice and my heart gave a dull ache.

"I know sweetie. I miss you too."

"_Maybe you could come visit next week?_" she asked hopefully.

I felt the tears come to my eyes at the desperateness in her voice. I wanted to. Oh, how I wanted to. But I knew I couldn't. I looked up and saw my apartment across Main St. and I smiled sadly. It was dark and unwelcoming in the shadows and the light of the moon. I remembered nights coming home to find Shaye waiting for me on the steps under the porch light.

"I'm sorry honey, I can't. I'm home now so I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

I heard her sigh and sniff. I swore my heart shattered.

"_Yeah, alright. Night, babe. I love you,_" she called.

"I love you too. G'night love."

I hung up the phone and headed across the street, digging in my purse for my keys. I stopped in the middle of the street when I realised I couldn't find them. I groaned. I remembered taking my keys out of my purse, setting them down on the bar counter to finish a last minute task, and forgetting to grab them on my way out.

"Shit!" I cursed wondering how I'd get into my apartment now.

I was going to turn around to head back to the bar in hopes that the manager would still be there when I saw a creature that made my heart skip a large beat. I stopped in my tracks and I felt my heart begin to race. The blood in my body began to rush through my veins and I opened my mouth to scream as the creature roared at me, sharp teeth shining in the moonlight.

A hand covered my mouth just as I began to scream. My scream came out as a muffled squeal. I felt another arm wrap around me and lift me off my feet. In the shock of the moment I just let myself be carried for a few feet as the person ran. Then my brain caught up with me and I started to kick.

"Would you stop that?" My captor ordered with a heavy accent.

"Keep running!" I heard a woman's voice yell.

I glanced up into the face of the person holding my mouth and stopped kicking. In the moonlight I could see it was a man. I stared at his disheveled appearance and rambunctious hair that looked like he'd stuck his finger in an electrical socket. He was older, thirty-eight maybe. Good looking to say the least. He held me in one arm and held my mouth with the other.

"We have to get back to the TARDIS," the man hollered over his shoulder.

"Etohemeee," my muffled voice said.

"Oh, sorry," he said, removing his hand from my mouth.

"Put me down!" I yelled and frowned when it came out as a high pitched squeak.

"Sorry, can't do that. If I do we're food," he said running into a dark alley.

"Doctor!" The woman behind us screamed.

The 'Doctor' stopped and set me down. He turned to look at me and gave me a stern look.

"You! Stay!" He ordered as he pointed a warning finger at me.

"What am I a dog?" I groaned under my breath.

He arched his left eyebrow at me and then the right side of his lips pulled back in half a smile.

I heard the woman yell something and then there was a large crash of trash cans toppling over. The Doctor took off back down the alleyway, long coat whipping behind him. I jumped when there was a large explosion and considered running like hell only to realise the alley was a dead end. There was a strange box sitting in the middle of the dark alley. I squinted to try to read the sign on the top of it but was snatched at both arms and pulled towards it before my eyes had the chance to focus.

I looked left and right and realised it was the man that kidnapped me and the woman I must have been hearing yell. She had long red hair and was dressed in jeans and a beaded top. I tried to keep pace between them in order to keep from being dragged, they were both significantly taller than me and the woman wasn't even that tall either.

"Come on girly! Put some speed into it," the woman hollered with a British accent.

"What the hell is going on?" I yelled back.

"No time. Come on!" The man called the Doctor said as he rammed the box's door open.

I had no idea what good hiding in a tall box would do. The thing would be a tight fit for two people let alone three. Bright light shone from inside the box as he ran through the door. The red headed woman followed but I stopped in my tracks.

I blinked as my eyes adjusted to the offending light and when they did I gasped. Inside the box was large, really large. The coralline pillars that ran like roots throughout the entire room and the pulsing lights made it seem almost as though the box were alive. The redheaded woman peeked her head out and stared past me. Her eyes went wide and she grabbed my arm pulling me in.

"Admire later. Run now!" She said.

Once inside she slammed and locked the door with a key attached to a long chain around her neck. She dashed to the center of the room where a weird looking machine stood. The Doctor was busy pulling levers, smacking buttons, and kicking things. He must have removed his jacket because he was dressed in a very tight navy pin-stripe suit.

The woman followed behind the Doctor in a circle around the machine. They were calling out what they were doing but I couldn't follow their words at all. It looked absolutely ridiculous like they were doing some sort of weird ritual dance and chanting.

"And finally the hand break!" They said in unison as they both pulled a lever.

"You might want to hold on to something!" The woman hollered at me as the Doctor reached for a lever.

"Why?" I asked. I was too distracted to pay much attention as there was a loud growling and scratching at the door.

Suddenly the whole floor began shaking and I screamed as I lost my footing and hit the floor. The world was a blur from the violent shaking as I tried to turn to look at the two people behind me. They were both holding onto the machine and grinning madly. The shaking lasted about a minute before everything went still. I clutched the floor breathing hard.

"Come on," the woman said standing above me and reaching out her hand. "Up you go!"

I held her hand tightly as I tried to find my balance but something felt strange. My heart was thudding rapidly and I was incredibly dizzy. I saw the Doctor playing with his machine. I noted how tall he was, definitely over six feet, and how thin he was. The suit with its pin stripes made him look even narrower. I blinked and stared at the woman holding me up. Her red beaded shirt was tucked into her dark denim jeans and her hair was a blown out mess, I supposed she was around thirty-five or so.

"I…" I tried to say only to end up gasping for air.

I clutched my chest and felt my eyes widen. A sharp pain pounded on both sides of my chest.

"Oi, you alright?" The woman asked wrapping her arm around me.

"Dizzy…" I gasped.

"Doctor," she called urgently.

The Doctor came over in a couple long strides and reached for me. I felt my legs begin to give out and he caught my arms as I went down.

"Is she alright?"

"It could be shock…" he said reaching in his back pocket for something.

He laid me down on my back on the floor as I gasped for breathe. I felt like my chest was being crushed in on me, like my lungs were shrinking. I looked at the weird stick he pointed at me as he fumbled with it. He clicked a button and the tip of it flashed blue as a buzzing sound emanated from it.

"What…?" I tried to ask.

"It's a sonic screwdriver," he said moving it slowly across my body.

"One of his favorite toys…" the woman joked.

"It is _not_ a toy…" he grumbled frowning.

I returned the frown and winced as the blue light traced across my chest and he flicked it off. He did something with the 'screwdriver' and frowned. He stared at me and I saw his eyes lose their shine.

"Who are you?" He asked gripping my wrist to steady me.

My eyes widened and I tried to pull my wrist free. The red headed woman stared at the man like he'd grown another head. The Doctor gave me a firm stare that said don't-screw-with-me-I-am-so-not-in-the-mood.

"What are you?"

"Let..go..!" I gasped glaring at him.

He did. _Is he insane? What __**am**__ I? What kind of crackpot question is that?_

"_Doctor_," the woman said agitatedly.

"Hush. Where are you from?"

"Don't you 'hush' me, spaceman!" She argued and pulled him to his feet. "Just what are you playing at?"

"Donna!" He exclaimed. "She isn't human or not completely! Her genetic makeup is all wrong."

"What?" The woman, Donna, stared down at me as I clutched my chest and tried to slide away from them.

I looked at them in horror. _I_ wasn't human? Oh my god they _were_ crazy. _Crazy_? I was in a large box, no little box, no large box, no little box on the outside but bigger on the inside. I really couldn't make sense of it. My brain wasn't working with me. I decided I was having a panic attack; I'd had them before just not for a long while. The Doctor and Donna were quietly arguing. _What the hell is going on?_ _And what the hell had that thing been that was chasing us?_ _Who the hell are they? _I decided I didn't know nor care at this exact moment.

I was surprised to find I still had my purse draped over my shoulder and chest. I slowly reached in and found my cell phone. I hit redial hoping Shaye would answer. Whenever I was having panic attacks I knew Shaye could bring me out of them. She was one of the only people that could. The phone did nothing. My heart raced faster, my lungs contracted. I snapped it shut, reopened it, and hit redial.

'_We're sorry; your call cannot be completed…'_

"There's no service," I heard the man say.

I looked at him fearfully and I saw the look on his face soften. Donna came up behind him and gave me a good once over.

"Take slow breathes," she advised me.

I slowly closed my phone and shut my eyes tight. I hoped I could just wish them away. I was gasping for air and I felt the panic increasing. I tried to take slow steady breathes, I just needed to relax. I heard the man crouch down in front of me and felt him take the phone. I heard him flip it open and press the redial.

"Who's Shaye?" he asked.

I opened my eyes and glared at him through my watery eyes.

"None of…" I winced as my chest constricted; not enough air.

The Doctor reached his hands out to me and placed them on either side of my head. I felt the pain in my chest diminish and I could breathe again. I felt my panic easing away as my heart slowed down. He removed his hands and looked me in the eyes. I stared into his and got lost in them.

The dark brown pools he had for eyes seemed to go on forever like an endless well. I could see the universe in those eyes that sparkled like a fireworks display. There was a heartbreaking sadness hidden within his soul that reached out to me through his eyes; speaking of untold wisdom and a longing I could understand.

"Who are you?" he asked me quietly.

"Mandy… Miranda Tate," I heard myself say.

"Where are you from Miranda?"

"Michigan."

"No, what planet?" He asked.

"Earth," I say.

I see the frown on his face as he looks me over again. I don't know why I'm telling him all this and frown in return. I look him over as he does me.

I noticed the angular lines of his face, his strong Roman nose which ended before rather small lips yet as frustrated as I was I couldn't help wondering what they would feel like against mine. I felt my heart rate speed up again. Dear God, what was wrong with me?

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-one."

The answer surprised him. He'd have thought she was lying if he wasn't the one controlling the truthful answers. She only looked about seventeen at most, or close to the same age Rose was when he'd met her. But he knew twenty-one was the truth.

"What species are you?"

"I'm…" I try to say human but the word won't come out. I try again. "I'm…"

I frown because I can't seem to form the word with my mouth.

"That's what I thought," he sighed and stood up, breaking eye contact.

It was hard not to notice his tall, lean frame and the way his muscles rippled beneath his bedraggled suit jacket as he crossed the room. There was something familiar about him… he reminded me of someone. Donna kneeled beside me and reached her hand out to me again.

"Donna Noble. Human companion of Martian boy over there," she introduced herself with a nod to the man.

"Martian… He's not…?" I can't bring myself to say it.

"Nope. He's an alien. Not bad, eh? Bit skinny for my tastes but handsome all the same," she said quietly with a wink.

I like Donna despite the weird situation. I look around me.

"What is this?"

"She's called the TARDIS, Time and Relative Dimensions in Space," the Doctor said clicking away at buttons in front of a monitor on the central machine.

_TARDIS_…_alien_… My head whirled with a bunch of new thoughts and ideas. "Does that mean that that thing back there was an… an alien too?"

"Yup. You'll get used to it. Don't worry," Donna said with a large grin standing over me.

I tried to stand as Donna pulled me up by the arm but I couldn't make my leg muscles work and landed back on my ass. _Oh, very graceful_. Donna frowned and turned around to look at the Doctor who was watching us closely. He left the machine and came over to us.

"Come on. We'll get you in bed," he said bending over and scooping me up into his arms and lifting me with no trouble. "Time travel isn't easy on everyone."

"It's fine. I only need a second!" I said trying to get down.

"Nonsense. If the Doctor thinks you need to rest you do. He would know," Donna said.

"But…" I started.

"We'll see about getting you home after you've rested. For now I'd suggest you go easy on your body. Your nervous system is in shock from the sudden atmospheric change," the Doctor explained.

He turned quickly and I wrapped my arms around his neck tightly. Donna followed behind us as he headed down a hall I hadn't noticed earlier. How freaking big was the inside of this damn box?

"Granted I have a respiratory bypass system but it still requires a minimal intake of oxygen to work," he said heavily.

I quickly released my hold around his neck and nearly fell out of his arms which caused him to tumble as well. He quickly caught himself as I rewrapped my arms around his neck again loosely.

"Sorry," I groaned embarrassed.

He just shook his head and continued on his way. I shut my eyes and felt my brain become foggy. I opened them when I felt him stop walking. I found myself being settled gently onto a bed. Unwelcome images crossed my mind and I had to look away from the man to keep from doing something stupid.

I closed my eyes and thought of something else to keep from blushing as I heard Donna sit on the bed.

"Doctor? I know Martha left some things in the wardrobe…."

"Sure, be right back."

I heard him walk away and chanced opening my eyes. Donna was watching me as I met her gaze.

"You aren't human?" She asked.

"Yes!" I said but then I shifted my gaze.

"You aren't completely sure of that are you?"

"Well… I know I've always been a bit different…" I said admittedly. "There was always something keeping me from connecting to my family, all of them. I was an outcast. I just didn't feel… the same."

Donna turned to stare at the door of the bedroom.

"Something about you has set him off," she said absently.

"What?"

Donna looked at me and took my wrist in her hand. She traced her finger along the many scars cut lengthwise along my inner arm. I stared at them and felt the unwelcome urge to make more. I turned my face away from them and glanced at Donna out the corner of my eye.

"What?" I asked again.

"You…" Donna was interrupted as the Doctor came back into the room and she quickly released my arm and turned it so the scars were hidden from his view.

"This was all I could find that was fitting for bed," he stated not looking at the black thing as he handed the cloth to Donna.

Donna shook it out and I saw it was a night gown, a provocative one. Well, maybe not on a normal woman with size 32A breasts that was all angles and no curves. But on me? I knew what it'd look like. My body was over blessed with curves. Large breasts, tiny waist, firm round hips. It would be revealing in the wrong places, or right places, depending on the opinion.

Donna held it up to me and arched an eyebrow reminding me of when the Doctor had done it. The Doctor pretended to be interested in his screwdriver as Donna tried to stretch the material.

"I'd offer you something of mine but I only have one set of pajamas… and its nothing like this…" Donna said grinning slightly.

"Umm... I…" I didn't seem to be able to form coherent sentences.

I so did not want to wear a skimpy little negligee in a… box… that belonged to two strangers. Especially when one was a rather hot male. Though a part of me wanted to be daring I couldn't bring myself to act on my urges. And strangely those urges were strong. I wasn't usually this physically attracted to anyone, ever.

"Umm, perhaps this Martha has some more clothes stashed away? Maybe I could find something to borrow?" I tried.

"Of course. But you aren't particularly walking well… Have any other people been affected like this on the TARDIS, Doctor?"

"Hm? What? Oh, a few. Not many though," the Doctor said distractedly. "I'm sorry, I have to do something."

Donna arched an eyebrow at him and shook her head as he walked out.

"That man…" she grumbled.

"Are you married?" I asked.

"No," Donna said.

"No," I heard the Doctor call from outside the door at the same time.

"You said you were his companion so I just assumed…"

"Oh, I am a companion. But not in that way. I'm more a friend sticking around to keep his fat head from getting stuck in shafts and air vents…"

"That was a miscalculation and it only happened once!" The Doctor hollered interrupting.

"Whatever you say, spaceman!" Donna hollered back.

I heard a grunt and a series of choice words but couldn't understand them as he got farther away. Donna just laughed. She tossed the gown at me and headed for the door. I couldn't summon up a smile; my mind was too full of questions to focus.

"Change and sleep. We'll talk when you come back around. Do you need help with that?" She asked absently.

I shook my head. I didn't want some stranger, female or not, seeing me out of my clothes or in this gown. The only person I would be showing it to was Shaye, and that wasn't happening either. I suddenly realised I hadn't got my phone back from when the Doctor had taken it. I wished I had it but it didn't seem to work anyways. I realised how tired I was and yawned as Donna left the room pulling the door closed. I shrugged out of my shirt and managed to get out of my skinny jeans and into the black gown.

It was just as bad as I thought. It covered my breasts but just barely. I had more cleavage than a porn star and I was thankful they were perky and round. The whole idea of them getting saggy someday repulsed me. Okay, so call me vain. The hem came to mid thigh and rode up as I scooted down into the coverlet on the bed. I laid my head back on the pillow and wondered how I'd shut off the light. As soon as the thought had crossed my mind the light went out. I noted two dim lights at opposite ends of the room, similar to a nightlight. I was thankful for that. I was secretly terrified of the dark and needed one at all times.

"Thank-you…" I said into the darkness.

I wasn't sure who I was thanking but I knew that someone was responsible. I heard a strange noise of clicks and moans and swore I could understand them meaning 'your welcome'. I sighed and shook my head. _Great, now I'm hearing voices in my head,_ I thought.

I closed my eyes and instantly felt my body relax into the bed. I'd been up all day and what a day it'd been. I'd been up all day taking care of the most mundane things, all of which were necessary; grocery shopping, dishes, vacuuming, work, etc. Work is always the same. Running around nonstop serving drunk men more of their favorites, getting hit on, mixing more drinks, hit on some more, sexually harassed by some, laying down the line with others, serve more alcohol, and then clean up and go home.

Aside from tonight it would have been a normal day, busy, but normal all the same. I wasn't sure I wasn't completely going insane. Maybe this was an exaggeration by my brain for the lack of sleep I'd been getting. I was probably going to wake up tomorrow and be asleep in my own bed. None of this would be real. Though I hoped I didn't forget Mr. Doctor by morning. He was too yummy to forget. I smiled drowsily and drifted into sleep

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**xxxDONNAxxx**

"What the bloody hell was that about?" Donna asked the Doctor entering the control room.

"…had no choice. It was either that or I had to get rid of it myself…"

"What are you on about?" She asked his back.

The Doctor waved his arm back at her and remained hunched over the TARDIS's controls.

"We'll be there after awhile. Donna and the girl need to rest first. Yes, yes. Alright. _Jaaackk_! _Good. Bye_."

The Doctor turned to her and snapped Martha's cell phone shut.

"Right then you were saying?" He asked with a bright smile.

"Why did you call Jack? You never call Jack," she said.

"Ah, well, you know," he said with a shrug as he wandered past her.

"Oh no, you don't! Stop right there!" She ordered grabbing the back of his jacket.

"Donnnaaaa…" he groaned.

"Don't you 'Donna' me! Speak Martian boy."

"How many times do I have to tell you I'm not from Mars?" He asked exasperated.

"Details," she countered.

"Alright," he said running his hand through his hair. "Here's the thing… that alien back there? Jack asked me to check this place out on account of a favor to see if the rumour mill was cranking out true information. Which, upon investigation, verified rumours as true, Jack has Torchwood on its way to send the thing back through the rift to its planet where it belongs. Meaning Jack is left alone in Cardiff with nothing to entertain himself with but... well, you know Jack. Therefore, Jack will be joining us tomorrow for a little trip. Besides, it's his birthday and I decided maybe a little adventure wouldn't be such a bad thing for our undying friend."

Donna stared at him a minute. She was well used to his speed of conversation. She had never met anyone who could ramble on at such a pace without tying their tongue. She replayed what he said in her mind and then burst into a smile. She'd met Jack by sheer chance when they'd dropped Martha off after their unplanned trip to Messaline. Ever since that meeting it'd been hard to get rid of him, much to her pleasure and the Doctor's frustration.

"Jack's comin'?" She repeated.

The Doctor grinned. He knew dear Donna Noble had more than a fancy for the immortal man. Jack on the other hand liked anyone, everyone, and every_thing_, male or female. But after knowing Jack all this time he could tell that Jack had come to equally adore Donna in their meetings. He didn't quite mind the fact so much oddly enough.

"Jack's coming," he confirmed.

"You have it all figured out don't you spaceman?"

"I believe the term I've heard you use is 'well, duhhh'!"

Donna smacked him on the back of the head.

"Ouch," he said, rubbing the back of his head. "What was that for?"

Donna gave him a you-know-exactly-what-that-was-for look. "You just have one teensy-weensy problem left, sir…"

He had a problem? How did he have a problem? There were no problems. Everything was going as planned. Rumours tested, checked, and taken care of. Torchwood would be taking care of little lost beastie, Jack would stop calling and pestering him to go for a ride on the TARDIS, and Donna was with him. No problems. No problem at all.

"I don't have a problem…"

"Yes. You do."

"What?" he asked confused.

"Daphne," she said.

"Who?"

"Daphne!"

"Who?"

"Daphne! From Scooby-Doo, you know the ginger that… Oh, forget it. The girl! Brunette? Busty? Damsel in distress? Your little rescue mission?"

His eyes got wide. Right. That problem. That wasn't part of the plan. But he couldn't have just left her there as a snack now could he? Not his fault. Besides there was something about her that got to him…

"Its fine we'll just drop her off once she's come 'round and we'll go on our way," he said matter-of-factly.

"You can't just do that!" She said horrified.

"What? Why not?" He asked confused again. Honestly, he did not understand humans, especially female ones.

"How do you think that'll make her feel? You just go runnin' up and snatch her off her feet and run her to safety away from a big bad monster-"

"Byrrn," he corrected.

"-bring her onto the TARDIS, and then accuse her of not being human! Then you carry her off to one of the bedrooms; find her the skimpiest little negligee in the entire wardrobe-"

"It's all I could find!" He defended, horrified by the accusation.

"-and now you're just going to 'drop her off' willy-nilly and go on your bloody way?" Donna put her hands on her hips and glowered at him.

When she put it all out like that it did seem sort of impolite… and he did wonder what she really was. Her genetic makeup was alien, but he had no idea what species. He was slightly confused as to how an alien had ended up on Earth living, looking, and thinking as a human, unknowingly attracting attention from aliens being torn through one of many rifts. Granted he had many theories but none of them seemed to make much sense. That was one thing he couldn't stand. Not knowing something. He knew everything, he was a Time Lord.

"Donna…"

She grabbed the girl's mobile from the cradle.

"What are you doing?" He asked, reaching for the phone.

Donna pushed him away.

"Come on, Donna!" he whined.

"You took this from her. Why?"

"I wanted to know who she was calling."

"Fine, now you know. I'm giving this back to her. She looked like you'd run over her pet when you took it."

"Ah, caught that did you?" He said with a grin.

Donna rolled her eyes at him. Some days she swore he was from another planet, before she remembered who he was and that he _was_ from another planet.

"You aren't taking her home."

"'Scuse me?" He asked with an arched eyebrow.

"She's stayin' aboard. With Jack comin' I'll be well outnumbered. It'll be nice to have another woman to help me keep you two in line," she said.

"Me? Out of line?" He said shocked.

"Yes sir, you! Now, I'll just drop this by her room and head for a bit of shuteye myself. I know you're ancient and alien and all that but I'd suggest you do the same at least once this week?" Donna suggested.

Donna didn't wait for his reply and strode from the room. He sighed. Why did he always seem to get himself into all of these sorts of messes? After nine-hundred and three years you'd think he'd have learned by now. And _yeeet_… here he was landed with one feisty human woman and one non-human freaked out girl he knew nothing about. Suddenly he did feel tired and headed for his room.

_I'm getting too old for this_, he thought.

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	2. Alien

**Author's Note: To all of my new readers, I'm glad you've made it this far! If you've decided you liked it enough to read to Chapter Two then I'm happy to have you with us. Just a reminder that you'll find my story switches from 1****st**** person to 3****rd**** person once and a while. It may seem a bit different but I believe you'll find it works.**

**This story has been going through a rewrite process. From now on I'll post when I've done any editing to the chapters. Some of the changes may be minor, some a bit more major. So be sure to browse through the chapters when you see an update note to be sure you don't miss the changes. These could be critical to the story making sense in the future. Please read and review. Anonymous reviews also welcome.**

**Visit my site for more fan-fictions, book covers, and extras: poison candy . weebly . com**

**Visit my deviantArt for all my Doctor Who art: mandy trimm . deviant art . com**

**Chapter Update: 4/4/13**

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx XxXxXxXxXxXx**

**CHAPTER TWO: ALIEN**

**xxxMANDYxxx**

I woke up feeling refreshed and my internal clock told me it should be around 9:30am. As I sat up in bed the lights in the room slowly got brighter. I gasped. At first I had no idea where I was but then the night's previous activities came back to me. I groaned and rubbed my face and lay my head back on the pillow. My head hit something and I winced. I reached up to find my cell phone on the pillow. How it got there I didn't want to know. Visions of the Doctor walking in and seeing me sleeping made my heart skip.

I looked around the room again only then realizing the entire room was different. The furniture, the walls, the _everything_! The walls were a creamy brown and the floor and furniture was a rich chocolate colored wood. The furniture was modern and smooth with Victorian accents on everything. I looked down to see that even the sheets and blankets were a different color, chocolate sheets and a cream comforter. The pillows were a rich chocolate with cream lace and embroidering. I then noticed that the bed itself wasn't the same. It was a queen sized canopy with the drapes tied open. I remembered for a fact the room I'd been in had been all orange-ish brown and that the bed had been a twin.

I frantically reached for my clothes, which were laying in a pile on the floor just like I'd left them, and changed into them. I was going to find out what the hell was going on. _Who the hell moved me, why, and how?_ Granted I really loved the room, from the color choices to the furniture to the décor. But that didn't give anyone the right to move me in the middle of my sleep without my knowing.

I stormed across the room and passed an open door. I glanced at it on my way by. Bathroom. I decided I probably looked deranged with my brown hair all over the place and my makeup fully smeared down my face. I sighed and went into the bathroom to take care of the necessities of morning. A couple minutes later I was heading out of the bedroom in search of that pompous 'Doctor'. Oh, I just knew it had to be him.

I somehow found the control room with the large machine like thing that glowed. I passed the woman, Donna, as she brightly said good morning. I would have felt bad for ignoring her if I wasn't feeling so damned violated from waking up where I wasn't supposed to be. I noticed the man's lanky body hanging out from underneath the central machine half hidden inside of a panel.

I stormed over to him and grabbed his ankles pulling him out and glowering down at him. His eyebrows were raised up to his forehead in surprise to find me standing above him.

"What, may I ask, did you think you were doing last night?" I asked angrily.

"What?"

"Did you really think you'd get away with it?"

"_What?_"

"I mean seriously! Don't you have _any_ sense of decency?"

"Now, hold on…"

"God! You're such a creep!" I snapped and headed for the door I remembered coming through last night.

I raced down the ramp to open the doors.

"No, wait!" I heard him and Donna yell.

I swung the doors open and went to step out and lost my balance in shock. All around me was a swirling of darkness and stars. Layers of colors shifted like clouds in the darkness and then faded away. I felt myself falling forwards where my foot had not found ground. Strong arms caught me and pulled me back just in time.

I felt myself pressed against the Doctor in protection and I held my breath. My nerve endings were on fire and I felt a strange attraction to him I didn't understand. I noted that the top of my head came only to his chest and exactly how much taller than me he was. I swallowed hard and blinked, staring into the swirling masses outside the doors.

"You're in space," I heard his carnal voice say slowly. "Outer space."

I shook my head and felt myself tremble slightly. Part of me was in awe of the magnificence and the rest of me was terrified. I felt my body shivering against the harsh cold coming through the doors.

"But… H-" I tried to ask, it came out as a whisper.

"This is my… space…ship."

"Don't worry, I felt the same way." I heard Donna say.

_Of course. He's an alien. He __**would**__ have a spaceship. Of course I'd be abducted by aliens on my way home from work. Of course I'd wake up in a totally different room. Of, __**freaking**__, course!_

"How did you move me?" I asked him.

Slowly the Doctor uncoiled his arms from around me and shut both doors. I stood there unmoving, breathing slowly.

"Would you care to elaborate on that?"

"When I woke up the room was different. Different walls, different furniture, even a different bed!"

"TARDIS," he groaned annoyed.

I heard him head away from me and turned to watch him approach the large machine.

"Oh, you've been a busy girl haven't you?" He asked crossly. "You don't have any say over who stays! No wonder she was miffed with me!"

I gaped at him. He was yelling at a machine. Talking to it like it was a person. I heard Donna laughing hysterically as the Doctor waved a large mallet-like hammer at it. He was now threatening to rewrite its system or some such… my god was he _threatening_ a machine? Really? Oh, this couldn't get any worse.

"I'm sorry about the TARDIS. She seems to think she owns the place," he said glaring at the machine. "But I can guarantee you I did not move you while you were sleeping. The changing of the room would be her doing completely. Apparently she likes you and wanted you to feel comfortable. Unfortunately for her you _won't_. Be. Staying!"

The way he articulated those last three words jarred something in my heart. For some reason I was rather hurt by that statement, not that I had any need to be. I didn't know these people nor did I want to exactly. Apparently my feelings were written on my face because the Doctor gave me a tender look and came back over to stand in front of me.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean it like that…"

"Don't," I said. "It's fine."

"No. I shouldn't…"

"Just don't," I said more firmly. "Just see to it you get me home."

I could hear the sound of his heartbeat with him so close, or maybe it was mine, thudding loudly in my ears. Donna walked over to join us and wrapped an arm around mine.

"Oh, he'll get you home safe and sound. He's been at this a loooong time," she gave him a look I couldn't decipher.

Apparently he could because he turned his head to stare at something else.

"C'mon love. Let's get us some tea, yeah?"

I silently let myself be pulled along and led back up the ramp. I stared at my feet as she led me out of the room. I could feel the Doctor's eyes watch us go but I said nothing. I couldn't. Within minutes I was sitting in a chair holding a hot cup of tea in their kitchen. I took a deep breath and smelt the chamomile.

"Drink up. It'll make you feel better," Donna told me.

"How?" I asked looking around.

"How what?"

"How do all these rooms fit in a six-by-six foot box?" I asked.

"The TARDIS does it. It's like a living creature somehow. Don't ask. I couldn't begin to tell ya. Just accept that it does and that it's pretty damn convenient."

"Alright then a different question. Why'd you bring me with you if you didn't want me here?"

I heard Donna sigh. I looked up to see her eyes reflecting a mixture of thoughts.

"It's not that we don't want you here…"

"He sure doesn't seem to…"

"The Doctor has been through a lot. By a lot I mean a huge freaking amount that you couldn't even fathom…"

"So what does this have to do with you abducting me in your spaceship?"

Donna rolled her eyes.

"You remember that thing that was chasing us?"

"Yeah."

"It isn't supposed to be on Earth. There are places all over the world where a rift acts as sort of a doorway to other times and planets…"

"What do you mean rift?"

"A rift is a gap or break where something has split apart. In this case it's a gap in space, connecting millions of others of places to it. That creature, though generally harmless, was pulled through the rift to Earth and being incredibly confused went kinda crazy."

"Again, what does that have to do with me? I must be missing something cause I don't understand what I have to do with aliens or rifts or… or anything!"

Donna sighed, rubbing her face with her hands.

"Well, I'm not completely sure. We'd been watching the thing for three days and found that it had been tracking you wherever you went. It seemed to be drawn to you for some reason. When it seemed to attack you last night we did the only thing we could think of to help you. We brought you on the TARDIS to keep you safe until that thing has been sent back to its own planet."

I stared at her and didn't know what to say. The creature had been stalking _me_? A creature from another _planet_? So then they were just trying to help. But another question popped into my head.

"He says I'm not completely human. So am I like him then?"

"The Doctor? No, there's never been another quite like him. Of course there were plenty of his species at one time or another but you aren't like him…."

"Who is he?" I asked interrupting her as she tried to stumble over an answer.

"He's just… the Doctor. He's what's called a Time Lord. He's from a planet called Gallifrey. But his home was destroyed centuries ago and he's all that's left of his kind. He's been alone a lot ever since. That's what I'm here for. To keep him in line sometimes and to offer company. Someone to smack him out of his depression and ridiculous ideas."

"What's his real name? It can't just be 'the Doctor'!"

"Don't know. No one does but him. As it is it's just 'the Doctor' to everyone."

I thought a minute and rolled thoughts around in my head. A vision of a giant city danced across my eyes but then disappeared. I felt like it was familiar somehow, like I was on the verge of remembering something.

"He's all that's left? Of his… race?"

"Yeah. They all died when his planet… was destroyed."

"That's awful," I said meaning it. "No one should be alone."

Donna must have seen something on my face because she reached across the table and held my hand. I stared at it a minute before attempting to smile.

"What about you? Are you alone?"

I thought about it. I wasn't sure what I should or shouldn't say. She was a complete stranger. And my life wasn't a happy one. Full of sadness, hatred, mistrust. I didn't know what to tell her.

"Oh, well. I was raised in Michigan. Grew up on a retired farm. Holidays were great until I hit fifteen. I had loads of friends to hang out with on and off throughout my school years. Normal life, really." I said with a shrug.

It was all a lie, but a well practiced one so it rolled right off my tongue. I felt guilty for lying, but there was no way I could ever tell anyone the truth. I was afraid if I did I'd disappear. Those people would take me away. Lying was my only chance of survival.

"I see…" Donna said catching that I didn't really want to talk about me.

I ran my fingers through my hair repeatedly, fixing my cup of tea with a bewildered stare. Aliens. Home planets. Gallifrey. Questions exploded inside my head like fireworks. It was all finally sinking in. Aliens really existed.

"Gallifrey…" I said rolling the word off my tongue.

There was something so familiar about that word. I felt like I should be remembering something. I supposed it had to do with my blackout from childhood. I couldn't remember anything from before the age of eight. Maybe I'd heard of it when I was a child and just forgotten

"What happened?" I asked.

"There was a war," I heard the Doctor say behind me. "A time war."

I turned to look at him. The look on his face was indifferent but I could see the hidden sadness in his eyes and hear it in his voice.

"The Last Great Time War. My race fought a race called the Daleks. For the sake of all creation. And they lost."

My heart seized at the name Daleks and I didn't understand why. I felt my eyes well up with tears. I looked away from him. No one wanted pity, no one. I felt immense anger building somewhere in my heart and I wanted to smash something as he continued.

"They lost. Everyone lost. They're all gone now. My family. My friends. Even that sky. Oh, you should have seen it, that old planet. The second sun would rise in the south and the mountain would shine…" He got a far off look as if he were watching it now, a wistful smile on his face.

Donna stood up to make another cup of tea. The Doctor was leaning against the wall staring off at nothing. I got a sense of déjà vu listening to him. I could almost see what he was describing. I tried to focus on the fuzzy picture in my mind only to get a severe headache. I shook my head and sipped my tea.

"The leaves on the trees were silver, when they caught the light every morning it looked like a forest on fire. When the autumn came, a brilliant glow though the branches... It was beautiful. They used to call it the Shining World of the Seven Systems. And on the continent of Wild Endeavour, in the mountains of Solace and Solitude, there stood the Citadel of the Time Lords. The oldest and most mighty race in the universe. Looking down on the galaxies below, sworn never to interfere only to watch.

Donna sat a cup of tea down in front of the empty space at the table. The Doctor sat down absently. He sipped the tea and set the cup back down. I saw Donna reach her hand across to him and he took it in his own without hesitation.

"Children of Gallifrey were taken from their families at the age of eight to enter the Academy. Some say that's where it all began. It was as a child that we saw all of eternity. As a novice we were taken for initiation. Staring into the Untempered Schism. It's a gap in the fabric of reality through which could be seen the whole of reality. We stand there, eight years old, staring at the raw power of time and space, just a child. Some would be inspired. Some would run away. And some would go mad.…."

I stared into the depths of my cup. I could see images swirling there. Something tugged at my mind. Eight years old. Gallifrey. Reality… An image came to me. I could see the breeze rustling the dark red grass in a long field as someone walked towards me, a large crystal dome surrounded a beautiful city in the distance. The woman was tall with long shining blonde hair catching in the wind and blowing like a flag. Her dress was an old style, Victorian. It was my mother I realised. The scent of the grass filled my nostrils as the memory floated away.

"Sweet red grass…" I mumbled.

"What?" The Doctor asked loudly.

I looked up startled. _What was that? Did I really remember something from when I was a child?_ That didn't make any sense though, grass wasn't red. The Doctor stared at me hard and I swallowed.

"The red grass… it smelled... sweet. I… I just thought of it."

"How do you know that?" The Doctor asked.

"I don't know…" I said, and I really didn't.

The Doctor and Donna stared at me for what felt like ages. I curled my hands in my lap and wished I'd said nothing. Suddenly the TARDIS began to rock violently and we all tumbled out of our chairs. I hit the floor hard and winced.

"Doctor? What's going on?" Donna yelled trying to climb to her feet and stumbling back on the floor.

"Some kind of turbulence..."

Our tea cups crashed off the table and shattered around me. Things were falling out of the cupboards and adding to the mess. I tried to crawl away from the tumbling contents and gasped as my hand was sliced with glass.

"Mandy!" Donna hollered.

I looked up to see the heavy wooden table tipping towards me and squeezed my eyes shut. I felt something cover me before I felt the heavy weight of the table on top of me.

"_Argh!_"

I realised the Doctor must have jumped on me to keep the table from hitting me. I didn't have much time to think over it as the whole room seemed to spin faster.

"Doctor!" I heard Donna yell.

I saw a large shelf ripping off the wall and tumbling towards her as she tried to crawl out of the way. I felt the Doctor shove the table back and scramble to his feet. Without thinking I followed him and we reached for Donna. She grabbed both of our hands and we pulled her out of the way of the shelf. Unfortunately my reaction time was too slow and I didn't get _myself_ out of the way in time. I saw the Doctor and Donna rushing out of the room in blurred freeze frames. I opened my mouth to holler at them as I felt myself flying backwards into the wall and the shelf crushing me into it.

My head cracked against the solid wall and brought tears to my eyes. I screamed in agony as I felt excruciating pain in my left side where the shelf had hit me in the chest and was now pinning the left side of my entire body. I was having a hard time keeping focus as I tried to shove the cupboard away with my free arm. Things started to blur as I gasped for air. I knew I needed to get free. I felt a growing pain in my left side and bit down on my lip to keep from crying out. I hated weakness, especially my own. I didn't want or need rescuing. I just needed me.

With that thought I tried to figure out how to get myself out of this mess, and out from under the cupboard. Wedged between the wall and the shelf I had no way to move, no way to get any leverage. As quickly as the ships violent tremors had come they went. I felt the ground beneath me stop moving and I heard the stillness around me. I tried to focus. Where were Donna and the Doctor? Was anyone there? Had they been hurt too? I tried to look around but couldn't turn my head. Suddenly I heard voices.

"What the hell was that all about?" I heard the Doctor's voice far off.

"Jack!?" I heard Donna exclaim.

"Hello, Red!" I didn't recognise the male voice.

"What do you think you're doing?" I heard the Doctor's angry voice.

"I was just testing out some new settings. Huon particles!" The man said sounding proud of himself.

"No freaking wonder why the TARDIS went insane! She was trying to dislodge you! You practically killed us you…" the Doctor was yelling.

I could hear Donna talking to someone. I realised it must be another woman as I heard the other person's voice.

"Honestly, Martha! How could you let him even try that out? I thought you had more common sense than that! Do you want to end up billions of years in the future _again_?" The Doctor changed his attention to the other person.

Suddenly the voices started to fade a bit as the pain took over. I moaned in agony and gasped for air. I was afraid one of my lungs was bruised. I knew my ribs, if not broken, were definitely bruised. I could feel my whole left body stuck. I tried to pull my body free again but the pain was so awful all it did was make me cry. Suddenly I heard Donna's voice close by.

"Wait a minute… Where's Mandy?"

"Who's Mandy?" I heard the other woman ask.

I heard the long pause as there was complete silence and jumped when I heard the Doctor yell loudly.

"Miranda!"

I heard the collected stomping of people running and felt my head throb. I began to lose focus again as I saw the blurred forms of four people running into the room. I tried to hold my head up high. I wasn't weak. I was fine, just fine…

"Oh my god!" I heard the other woman's voice say.

"I'm okay," I said.

I felt the shelf being moved as the Doctor and the other man grunted to pull it away from me. As soon as it gave way I felt my whole body collapse to the floor. I couldn't breathe well and the pain was disorienting me.

"Oh god! Miranda? Are you alright?" I heard Donna's voice all around me and felt her hands stroke the right side of my face.

"I'm okay," I repeated.

I felt firm hands feeling my left side gently. I tried to look at the woman examining me but my vision kept swimming. I could make out that she had light chocolate skin and dark hair. I could tell the Doctor was on my other side.

"Is she all right?" The other man asked. I could see him standing close to us.

"She has at least three broken ribs…" I felt my button up shirt being lifted and felt something cold touch my skin. "One of her lungs isn't working properly… and…"

I felt the coldness being removed and saw the woman stand. I heard the caution in her voice and wondered what was so wrong with me that she couldn't say it out loud.

"Martha?" I heard the Doctor ask. "And what?"

I heard the long pause. It was getting too hard to hold my head up so I let it roll to my shoulder. I felt Donna smoothing my hair and heard her whispering little things like 'it's okay' and 'you're alright' that I couldn't focus on. I could hear the new man talking about something called Torchwood and a hospital. The Doctor and the other woman were silent.

"And her left heart isn't working," Martha finally said.

There was an eerie silence as even Donna seemed to go quiet and remove her hand. I wondered silently what that meant as tears fell from my eyes hot and salty. Was I dying? Is that what that meant? _Wait, if my heart isn't working then I'm already dead_. But… that didn't make sense either… I was breathing, I felt pain, and I _was_ alive.

In the last moment I was awake I felt myself lifted off the floor into the Doctor's arms and the excruciating pain made me cry out. I bit down on my lower lip. I didn't know what was happening anymore as I started drifting into the darkness. Pretty soon I felt nothing, saw nothing, heard nothing. There was just nothing and at that moment, I welcomed the dark.

"I'm not okay…" I managed to say before falling into darkness.

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	3. Regeneration

**Author's Note: To all of my new readers, I can't believe you've made it to chapter 3! Thank you so much for joining me in this story and I can't wait for your reviews. Just one more reminder that you'll find my story switches from 1****st**** person to 3****rd**** person once and a while. It may seem a bit different but I believe you'll find it works.**

**This story has been going through a rewrite process. From now on I'll post when I've done any editing to the chapters. Some of the changes may be minor, some a bit more major. So be sure to browse through the chapters when you see an update note to be sure you don't miss the changes. These could be critical to the story making sense in the future. Please read and review. Anonymous reviews also welcome.**

**Visit my site for more fan-fictions, book covers, and extras: poison candy . weebly . com**

**Visit my deviantArt for all my Doctor Who art: mandy trimm . deviant art . com**

**Chapter Update: 4/4/13**

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx XxXxXxXxXxXx**

**CHAPTER THREE: REGENERATION**

**xxxMARTHAxxx**

Three days later Jack was using Martha's mobile to talk to one of his team members from Torchwood. Martha recognised Ianto Jones' voice from across the room. Donna was sitting in a chair near the door of the medical lab biting her nails. She'd been doing that for three days now. Martha was surprised she had any nails left.

Martha checked Mandy's vitals for the sixth time in the past hour. She was feeling incredibly guilty for the girl's accident. She knew Jack was having a worse time of it. He kept excusing himself to do something. A couple minutes later they could hear him ramming his fists into the hardest objects he could. If it hadn't been for them and their little transport onto the TARDIS Mandy would be fine right now.

Martha sighed. She and the Doctor had brought her to the medical lab on the TARDIS and ran all the tests they could think of. Mandy was severely broken in many ways. When the cupboard had crushed her against the wall it had shattered three ribs, one of which had punctured her left lung. Her left leg was set; it had been broken in four places. Her wrist was also broken. And if that wasn't bad enough her left heart had been crushed and ruptured.

That was the biggest shock for them all. When Martha had listened for her heartbeat she'd discovered that where her heart should be there was no beat. Upon checking the other side she'd found a feint but steady beat. That meant she had two hearts and there was only one reason for that. She's was a Time Lord, or a Time Lady to be exact. Once that shock had set in for the Doctor he started doing all he could remember from when he'd been on Gallifrey, trying all the old remedies to save her.

Unfortunately for them both, nothing had worked. The part that worried them most was that she hadn't woken up since she'd fallen into unconsciousness three days ago. Given the fact she was a Time Lady she should just regenerate but for some reason she hadn't. The Doctor was pacing over the medical bed grabbing at his hair with one hand.

"Doctor, maybe you should rest…"

The Doctor turned to look at Martha and sighed.

"I can't just stay here. I can't watch her die."

"But you don't know that she's _going_ to die!"

But Martha couldn't say that whole heartedly. Mandy wasn't regenerating, she wasn't getting better, and she wasn't waking up. Martha was terrified for the poor girl. She hadn't been able to start her other heart like she had the Doctor's one time. One punctured lung, one ruptured heart, three shattered ribs, a major concussion, a dozen other broken bones... The girl would have been dead on impact if she had been human.

"Don't I? If she wasn't going to die she would have regenerated by now," the Doctor said his eyes tired from unrest.

Martha stared at him. She knew he was hurting. He'd already lost two women he'd become unwillingly attached to in the past month. He'd rescued this girl and somehow she'd turned out to share the same genetics. She knew the Doctor couldn't stand sitting around when someone was dying and there was nothing he could do about it. She also knew it was affecting him most because it had happened on his ship.

"I never even would have known she was from Gallifrey," the Doctor said resuming his pacing. "I'd have dropped her right back off on Earth and never have thought twice about it."

She looked at Donna and tried to get the woman to help her. Donna stared at her and shook her head. Martha knew Donna was just as skeptical that the girl would live as the Doctor. Martha couldn't give up that easily though. She'd become a doctor for a reason. She'd seen millions of people suffering in the year that never was. She wasn't going to lose this girl over a damn shelf, a damn shelf that never would have happened if she'd argued with Jack to just wait for the Doctor to come himself.

"There's still a chance she could get better. She hasn't died. She isn't getting worse…"

"But she isn't getting better either! Martha don't you understand? When we aren't regenerating there's a reason for it. Either we've none left or our time in the universe has run its course. Obviously her time is up."

"Doctor! You can't know that! You can't just give up, run away."

"I've been running all my long life Martha Jones. So don't you tell me what I can and can't do!" He said angrily, he knew he was being childish but he couldn't help it.

"You two aren't helping her any by fighting like cats and dogs you know," Jack said matter-of-factly.

Jack snapped the phone shut and tossed it onto an empty chair. He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. Martha and the Doctor had the sense to look ashamed as they both glanced at the girl. She was strapped to wires and an intravenous tube, an oxygen mask covering her mouth; the TARDIS was doing its best to help her along.

"I don't know what to do. I've tried everything I could without admitting her to a real hospital. All I can do is keep her hooked up to the intravenous tube and on oxygen," Martha said quietly.

For years the Doctor had spent a lot of time alone. Picking up a temporary human companion here and there, even some non-human ones. He'd fallen in love with a couple of his companions. Rose Tyler was one he missed greatly, even still. Her memory was a painful one. Then he had found Martha, the doctor in training, and she had fallen in love with him, a love he couldn't return. She'd traveled with him a long while, through thick and thin, before she finally walked away.

Then after she had left he'd come across Donna, a woman he'd met over a year before Martha had left. Donna had become the down-to-Earth sister he needed in his life. Donna was always perky and opinionated and chatty. She was well able to stand up to the Doctor when she saw fit, and if he was honest with himself, that was good for him. Martha and the Doctor looked at Donna who was sitting uncharacteristically quiet.

Martha walked over to Mandy's bedside and brushed a stray strand of brown hair out of the girl's sleeping face. Martha felt helpless. Here she was a well educated, practiced physician and she couldn't help when it mattered most.

"Don't give up," Martha told her. "There are people that need you to get better. People that love you, waiting for you to come home."

She prayed that the girl would suddenly get better or regenerate if only to ease the mind of the Doctor who had yet to leave the TARDIS. He'd thought he was all that was left of his kind for hundreds of years before stumbling upon the Master, a Time Lord that'd attempted to take over the universe starting with Earth. The Doctor had hoped to save him, make him better, care for him. But in the end the Master had been shot by a scorned wife and refused to regenerate just to hurt the Doctor.

The Doctor was left more torn than ever after having to adjust to the idea of being the last of his race yet again. Then he got better upon finding Donna again and having her tag along with him. The Generated Anomaly was the _biggest_ shock of his long life. She was a completely unnatural creation and born to fight. Her natural instinct to use weapons was disastrous. Every instinct rebelled against her very existence, against opening his hearts to that girl. But he had in the end.

Donna had not only named her, she fought him over his treatment of her, and showed him the truth of her biology. Jenny's two hearts were another shock; Time Lords started with a single heart, so how could she start with two? In the end, it hadn't mattered. She proved too much like him where he had been unwilling to see how precious she was – until it was too late. She'd stepped between himself and a bullet, ending her too short life. That loss was still too fresh and now he was about to lose another.

Miranda Tate might have been an accidental find, but she was an important one. She was part Time Lady and the only one left. Even if she _was_ only half. But the human side of her seemed to be taking hold and the regeneration process wasn't activating. Maybe, just like Jenny, she didn't have the ability. Even the Doctor didn't know what abilities she could possibly have due to the partial biology.

"I have to go somewhere, do something…" the Doctor said.

Martha stared at the Doctor as he paced the floor absently reaching up to rub the top of his head and pulling at his hair. Here he was with the chance of having found someone else from the same place, same time, and same species to live the rest of his life with and he was going to run. Run from fear of being let down. Fear of being alone. Afraid of fear itself.

"Coward," she said quietly.

She saw Donna and Jack look at her sharply. She didn't let that bother her, nor when the Doctor stopped his pacing to turn his dark eyes on her.

"What?" He asked looking at her angrily.

She knew what he became like when angered and pushed too far. It was hard to ignore just how alien the man could become when he became the vengeful angel he hid away.

"Coward," she yelled at him. "You know what Doctor? You deserve to be alone. All this time you've been taking companions not caring what it is you do to us in the midst of your adventures. You make us care for you and then dump us back home without a second thought. Leaving us wondering, hoping, dreaming…"

Martha knew she was being unjust. Most of her anger was due to her own personal disappointment at his not returning her feelings. She couldn't stop now though, not now that she'd started.

"Here you stand over a young woman who's never known her true heritage, something you could easily fix, but instead you want to run away. What about her? She's one of them, of _you_! A true child of Gallifrey and what're you going to do? Hop off onto another planet and ignore everything!"

The Doctor stood there staring at her. He didn't move, didn't blink, didn't breathe. Martha also held her breath. Never before had she ever yelled at the Doctor like this. There had been many times she'd wanted to but hadn't. That tended to be Donna's job. Slowly he raised his hand to his face and rubbed it. When he lowered his hand again there was pain written all over it. His deep eyes seemed to go on forever as she looked in them. The depths seemed bottomless and through them she felt such pain and sorrow that she gasped. She wished now she could take back what she'd said.

"Don't go," Martha heard herself plead. "Don't do this to her. She needs you… and I… I think you need her too."

The Doctor sighed and slowly pulled Martha into his arms. He felt Donna and Jack relax a bit. In all his nine hundred and three years he'd never taken such a risk. He'd grown to fear hope. The last time he'd found a Time Lord it had ended painfully for him. Then he lost his daughter, Jenny, before he'd even been able to give her a chance. Now another child of Gallifrey had appeared and he was more afraid than ever. He felt a tear slide down his cheek and reached up to rub it away in confusion. Time Lords didn't cry, especially not this one.

Martha looked up in his face and felt her own tears fall. She was sorry she'd yelled at him. She knew how much he was hurting. But she also knew she couldn't let him just walk away. He needed this girl, no matter what he thought. She blinked as the room began to get brighter.

"Doctor…" Jack said warningly.

Martha turned slowly out of his arms to stare at Mandy's body. It had begun to glow brightly and she felt the Doctor grab her arms and pull her back. Jack reached for Donna as she backed away from the girl's body.

"She's…" Martha started to say.

"Regenerating," the Doctor finished.

The Doctor shoved Martha into Jack's reaching arm and dashed to the regenerating girl's side. He placed his fingers to the girl's temples hoping to help her through the process. He wished he'd had someone to help him through his past nine like this. Her back arched off the table as she gave a shuddering gasp, her mouth and eyes open in shock. The light poured from them. The Doctor felt her resistance and panicked.

"Don't fight it! You have to regenerate or you'll die! Don't fight it!" He told her.

Memories assaulted his mind that he knew weren't his own. He was seeing Miranda's past, memories lost to her until now. He saw the mountains of Gallifrey as she'd seen them, the sweet red grass blowing in the breeze as a blonde woman walked toward them, the trees with their silver leaves rustled by an invisible wind. The memory changed and he saw Miranda wandering through the Shining City's enormous library running her hands delicately along the spines of the age-old books, she was so small, so delicate, so fragile looking.

Another memory shoved into his consciousness. He saw Miranda playing in the old forest just outside the Citadel. Shadows passed overhead and he saw her look up in terror. He watched the Daleks invade Gallifrey as she'd seen them, the start of the war. He watched her run back toward the Citadel for safety. The vision changed and he watched that same woman controlling a flashier model TARDIS, her long blonde hair tumbling in a tangled mess to her waist. He recognised what she was doing as she attached a fob watch to a sort of helmet. He knew, because he'd done it himself. She was rewriting her biology, she was becoming human.

The Doctor watched the woman place her hands on either side of Miranda's face; she couldn't be more than eight, the age in which they were usually taken to the academy. He saw the girl's tears as the memories of Gallifrey and the Time War were wiped from her mind. The memories of her family, friends, her planet, her only home. The woman laid the child on the floor where she remained unconscious as tears of her own cascaded down her cheeks.

"_You'll be safe now. We'll all be safe. We'll go to Earth, I'll raise you as a human, no one will know…_" the woman whispered.

He watched the woman strap the machine to her head and watched as she screamed through the entire agonising process.

The memory changed again. The Doctor saw a little girl at the dinner table with three others. _Miranda_, he decided. She couldn't be any more than a couple years older. But she looked so aged, so tired, so… sad. Before he had time to really notice the faces of the others at the table the visions faded away.

The Doctor felt Miranda trying to stop the regeneration. She was fighting with everything she had left. He couldn't let her. He had to make her understand.

"You can't do that. There is someone out there that loves you. Someone needs you to live. If you stop this you will die. No one will know, you'll just disappear," he whispered in her ear hoping it would work.

It did. He felt the shift of the regeneration begin as the flames of energy began trickling out from Miranda's body and wrapping itself around her. The Doctor held her head in his hands despite the burning sensation he could feel radiating off from her. The Doctor squeezed his eyes shut as the bright light exploded white hot. She screamed in agony and he gently rubbed his thumbs on her cheeks.

"I know. That's a girl. It'll be over soon," he attempted to soothe.

He could see Jack holding Martha and Donna tightly, staring horrified at the scene unfolding before them. The Doctor held tightly to the girl's head as she seized from the chemical reconstruction going on inside of her.

Violent torrents of bio-energy lashed out from every inch of her as she screamed. He could feel her body reconfiguring as muscle and sinew stretched and twisted formless in blood fire. The energy radiated and swelled as she healed. And then she burned. His hands gripped air as every bone crumbled turning to white vapor, every ligament in her body alight and every cell glowed gold and she was just bodiless raw energy.

Then her body reformed. He felt the changes as bone and muscle formed. Finally the light dimmed. When he opened his eyes he was surprised to find she looked the same, well, not completely. He quickly grabbed a sheet to cover her before the others saw her. Her clothes had disintegrated completely in the regeneration. He'd drawn in the rest of the regenerative power so as to avoid blowing up the TARDIS, which he knew could've happened as damaged as she was.

He could tell her physical makeup had matured by maybe two or three years, she looked closer her 21 years. The biggest change was her shape itself. She'd lost most of her weight with this regeneration. The most notable change due to weight loss was the bust and hips, or lack thereof. Her body looked firm and supple, with delicate curves.

Her facial construction hadn't changed at all; same nose, same chin, same cheekbones, whether she had the same eyes was yet to be seen. Her once shoulder length brown hair was now long and blonde, tumbling to her waist, the same as the woman's in her memories. He knew she was an inch or two taller and her skin was flawless and smooth.

She'd rehabilitated closely to fit his own physique. He supposed it was bound to happen. When a Time Lord linked to another during regeneration in most cases the regeneration drew the anatomical genetics of the other to replicate a similar atomy. In other words, she was a female mold of his own current regeneration, only shorter and blonde. He'd have to see what else the regeneration had copied from him.

Slowly the girl's body settled back into the table. He saw Jack approach with Martha and Donna and looked at them. They looked her over as they got closer. Jack was the first one to say anything.

"Why does she look so…? You always look different."

"I think it's the human part of her. Her human body kept the same basic shape but her Time Lord DNA linked to mine and changed her body to fit mine… That's what happens when Time Lords link to another during regeneration."

"No wonder she's gone all flat, it's like you put a hole in her," Donna said. "Hope she doesn't mind losing all that extra."

"Will she be alright now?" Martha asked concerned.

"Yes. She's completely healed."

"You know… I rather liked her – "

"_Jaaack!_" The Doctor warned.

Jack smiled and winked at him, purposely irritating the Doctor, just because he could.

"Just sayin'. She was perfectly built to my tastes. Though she's pretty tasty this way too. Wonder what she…"

The Doctor pointed a finger at the door.

"You," he said. "Out!"

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx XxXxXxXxXxXx**

**xxxMANDYxxx**

I drifted back to consciousness feeling out of sorts. I felt dizzy, disoriented, and I tried to remember how to move my fingers. Curious, that such a simple task was suddenly so difficult for my nervous system. Curiouser and curiouser, I could remember what a nervous system was but not what it did…

A voice drifted over me, distracting my thought process as I tried to focus on my body's main functions. Breathe in, breathe out. I felt hands being removed from my face. _Hmm, I hadn't even noticed there were hands __**on**__ my face_…

"You," I heard above me." Out!"

_Okay, body control one; breathing. Check. Body control two; speech_. I groaned. _Check_. _Body control three; motor function._ I tried to open my eyes. _Not check_. I tried again. Finally I got my eyes to open and lifted my hand to my aching head. I brushed my hair from my face and was startled to find that it was really long... and blonde? I opened my eyes wide and stared into the face of the Doctor.

"How are you feeling?" He asked me.

_Body control two; speech again…_

"I…" I frowned as I heard a different voice in my ears.

I ran both hands up my body absently and when my hands ran over my chest... My eyes widened. _My boobs are gone! Oh my god! What the hell did they do to me? Breast reduction? I mean, I did hate my boobs… _No, I loved my boobs but hated their size. But they were a part of me and they were… nearly gone! I felt the rest of me again and realised how firm and thin I was. All my curves were gone, my weight.

"Boobs…" I squeaked, with another girl's voice.

"Told you she'd freak out," Jack said smugly.

"What did… how did… what?" I asked horrified.

"You regenerated," the Doctor said, as if that answered everything.

"I what?"

"Regenerated. You're body was severely damaged and in order to keep you alive you were rebuilt, in a way. You replicated after me. You… thinned up a bit."

"You turned into a tiny female him," Donna supplied.

I looked at her horrified and turned to get off the medical bed. _I turned __**into**__ him? What the hell does that mean?_ _I mean, I feel like me… just different_. I felt my head swim as my feet hit the floor. I coughed and saw an odd shimmer of gold dissipate in the air from my mouth.

"Easy!" Martha and the Doctor said each grabbing an arm as I wobbled unsteadily.

"I don't want to be anyone but me!" I exclaimed.

I looked at my hands which had an odd golden shimmer to it, like I was glowing from the inside.

"You are you," the Doctor said. "Your body has just lost some weight and most of your, well…"

He trailed off and I stared at him. I caught the faint pink on his cheeks and my eyebrow rose in amusement. He quickly covered up his embarrassment with a look of indifference.

"Come on, love. We'll find you something to wear…" Donna said to me taking my arm in hers.

"Umm… alright." I said staring down at my bare feet.

It was then I realised I was holding a sheet to my body and that I was entirely naked.

"Where are my clothes?" I asked horrified.

"Your regeneration was a difficult one, the fabrics got burned up due to the excessive heat and regeneration can only repair you, not your wardrobe," the Doctor said.

"Oh, god! You mean you all saw me..?"

"No, only I did," the Doctor told me.

I groaned embarrassed and felt the heat rush to my face. How horrifying was this? I coughed again and when the shimmering gold left my mouth again I stared at him.

"What the hell is that?" I asked.

"That's the left over regenerative power, it'll stop soon. You just aren't quite done yet," he said smiling amusedly.

"You make me sound like an undercooked turkey."

"Something like that," he laughed.

"And why do I sound like this?" I asked him.

The Doctor gave me a sympathetic smile. "Lots of things change with regeneration. Physical appearance, personality, voice…"

I found myself staring at the blonde hair that had grown past my shoulders and cascaded down to my waist. Donna placed her hand on my back leading me away from them. I could feel the muscles in my thighs and legs clenching and unclenching as I walked away with Donna. It was strange being aware of all the nerve endings and muscles in your body. The floor of the hall was cold on my bare feet and the texture felt strange on my skin. Had my senses always been this hyperactive? I didn't think so.

Trailing a few feet behind Donna I caught a strong scent of something floral and sweet. Could it be Donna's shampoo? And if it was why could I suddenly smell it now? Donna led me to the room they'd brought me to when I'd first arrived. I stopped in the middle of the room looking around. I saw my phone still lying on the bed where I'd left it. I wondered what time it was, some nagging feeling told me I should be able to tell the time without looking.

"Donna, what time is it?" I asked slowly.

Donna opened a closet door I hadn't noticed and shuffled through the hundreds of hanging garments. I stared at them all and wondered how the hell the Doctor had gotten so many women's clothes on his… TARDIS. The word had a totally new meaning to me.

TARDIS. Time and Relative Dimension in Space. Time machine and spacecraft. Grown in a nursery, not built. Dimensionally transcendental. A product of the advanced technology of the Time Lords.

Time Lords. An extra terrestrial race and civilization of humanoids whose origins orginate from the planet Gallifrey. Clairvoyants. Received their name for their non-linear perception of time that allowed them to see everything that was, is, or could be at the same time.

My head spun with this knowledge. I felt a growing headache as information shoved into the front of my consciousness, each bit demanding my attention. A memory threw me as it pushed past everything else. My name. A name that I had not heard in so long. I remembered then who and what I was.

"Try this on, I bet it'll look lovely," Donna said startling me from my thoughts.

"Alright." I said distractedly.

I took the garment into the bathroom and dropped the sheet from my body. I stared at myself in the mirror turning this way and that, liking the look of my body. I was… perfect. _Vain much? _I wondered silently_._

I peered closer into the mirror at my face. It was the same as it'd always been. Same green eyes, same nose, same cheekbones, and same chin… the only difference I noted was that my face was a bit thinner.

I found a scale tucked out of sight and stepped onto it and was surprised to find I was 112 pounds. Thirty pounds lighter without my hips and breasts. My arms and legs were thinner and I could see the muscles in my calves as I pointed my toes outward. I smiled at my body and ran my hands up my sexy frame, allowing myself a moment to just admire myself, pretentious as it was.

I slid the black dress on and modeled it in the mirror. Oh, I looked good. The dress was tight on my thin frame and I knew I'd never have gotten in it before. I looked at myself sideways and realised just how thin I really was.

"How's it look?" I heard Donna call through the bathroom door.

"Amazing," I responded stepping out.

Donna smiled at me, looking me up and down. Before I'd realised what was happening she'd pulled me into a hug.

"Are you alright?" I asked, patting her awkwardly.

"I'm sorry," she said pulling away. "We were just so worried you wouldn't…"

I didn't need her to finish. I could see it in her eyes, the weariness and the dark circles. They'd thought I would die. I smiled sadly and she shook her head before giving me a huge smile.

"Enough of that, though," she said. "You look great. Maybe the Doctor making you as skinny as him wasn't _so_ bad…"

"I guess not," I agreed. "I wonder what Shaye will…"

I opened my eyes wide and stared at my phone. Shaye. Shaye called me exactly twice a day; once in the morning, once in the evening. I couldn't tell what time it was, there were no clocks or windows to distinguish whether it was morning or night. I looked at Donna and she stared at me worriedly.

"What's wrong?" She asked, sensing my nervousness.

"How long was I asleep?"

"About three days. That's why we were…"

"Three days!" I exclaimed in horror, interrupting her.

"It's okay," she said holding out her hands. "It's no big deal. You're fine."

She didn't understand. Shaye would be worried. Shaye was probably past worried; she was probably having a coronary. We'd never gone more than ten hours without talking, let alone seventy-two. By now she'd have contacted every one of my friends and gotten a search party together. I ran to the phone and flipped it open. I tried over and over again to make it work but couldn't.

"What's…?" Donna didn't have the chance to finish as I raced out of the room.

I ran down the hall, my muscles screaming their protest. I stopped in the middle of the hall realising I had no idea where I was going. I lifted my nose to the air and breathed in. There. I could smell him, the Doctor. I followed the scent and found the Doctor and the other man and woman in the kitchen.

I skidded to a halt beside the Doctor, gasping for air. My body apparently couldn't handle the excessive exercise at the moment. The other man was leaning against the refrigerator with his arms crossed. He gave me a seductive whistle as he looked me up and down. I would have been flattered had I not been so panicked. But I couldn't help but note that his tight black shirt was filled with deliciously toned muscles, nearly concealed by his long military coat.

"Phone," I gasped holding my mobile out to the Doctor as another bit of regenerative energy blew out of my lungs.

I was suddenly feeling extremely tired and weak. My brain processed some bit of knowledge I'd long forgotten. Regeneration. The ability to, when severely and mortally wounded, change and heal the body. I supposed my exhaustion had to do with my regeneration. I recalled the Doctor stating that I wasn't 'quite done yet'.

"Pardon?" He asked confused.

"My phone, it won't work. Please? Can you…?"

He took the phone from me and grabbed his sonic screwdriver from his pocket. He pointed it at my phone and pressed a button. After a series of whirring sounds he handed it back.

"There. It should work now. You look nice," he said absently.

The man and woman laughed as I ignored him and began dialing Shaye's number. I didn't notice the look of disappointed surprise on the Doctor's face. I heard the phone ring twice before she picked up.

"_Hello?_" I heard her ask anxiously.

"Shaye?" I called.

"_Oh my god! Mandy!_" I heard her sob on the other end.

"It's okay. I'm here! I'm okay!" I soothed.

"_I've called you a hundred times!_"

"I know, I'm sorry! No service."

I felt the eyes of all three people in the room glued to me as they listened to my one sided conversation. I saw the Doctor turn to the stove to pour water from a kettle into a black teacup.

"Tea," the Doctor explained, handing me a cup.

I took it while cradling the phone between my ear and shoulder and sipped it.

"…_I thought something may have happened to you! I thought maybe you were kidnapped, or raped, or killed! Or all three!_"

"Hey! Listen to me! I wasn't kidnapped… well," I glanced back at the Doctor and he raised an eyebrow questioningly, "not exactly anyways. And I haven't been raped or killed… Well not _completely_ killed anyway…"

"_Not 'completely' killed? What the __**hell**__ does that mean?_" She yelled.

"Tea," the Doctor said nudging the forgotten cup in my hand.

I rolled my eyes and drained the cup before answering her, handing the empty cup back to him.

"Nothing, I'm alive! Obviously, 'cause I'm talking to you now. I'm okay, I'm safe."

"_Where are you? I've been waiting at your apartment all day!_"

"You're at my apartment?" I asked startled. "How did you get in?"

"_I called Mitchell, but he hadn't heard from you so he called Clifton. Clifton told him to go find you while he got a hold of Zollie…_"

"Tea," the Doctor said again handing me a refilled cup.

I glared at him and he grinned, thoroughly enjoying himself. I took the cup and walked away from him, hoping to avoid any more in'tea'ruptions. I winced. _Oh, that was bad. Bad joke, very bad joke. Alright note to self; screen all thoughts before saying them aloud._ Shaye's words suddenly registered in my mind.

"Wait a minute! You called Mitchell? Oh, god! Why would you do that?" I asked horrified.

I didn't realise I was being thoroughly examined by the three people in the room. They listened intently to my one-sided conversation with extreme interest. I drank the tea listening to her.

"_I figured maybe you were with him. Last time you disappeared it was 'cause you and him got all caught up with each other,_" she said defensively.

"So wait a minute. That doesn't explain how Mitchell got you into my apartment."

"_Well, you know Mitchell. He picked the lock for me. Drove all the way here just in case. Look, Clifton and Zollie just got here. You had us __**all**__ worried, not answering the phone for three days! We were about to call the police. God, Mandy I thought you could be dead!_" She yelled again.

"I know, I'm sorry."

"_Where are you? When will you be home?_"

"When will I be home?" I repeated the question to the Doctor.

He shrugged. The man and woman watched him intently. They wondered if he'd ask her to stay, considering they now knew she was at least _part_ Time Lord. Donna silently entered the room and gave the Doctor an unreadable look.

"I can take you back now," the Doctor said plainly. "Shouldn't take too long."

I nodded my head and he passed me and Donna as he left the room.

"I'll be home in a bit alright?" I said into the phone. "Don't call the police. Tell the boys I'm fine. And… well, I may not look the same when you see me. It's been a few months and…"

"_Forget it. Just hurry home, alright?_" She asked.

"Okay, I'll see you in a bit. Bye," I said and quickly shut the phone.

"So… you're leaving," Donna observed.

I turned to look at her standing close to the man in the long military coat. He stepped forward and held his hand out to me.

"We never had the chance to be properly introduced. Captain Jack Harkness," he said with a big smile.

I was surprised that he didn't have an accent like Donna and the Doctor. It seemed I wasn't the only American in the room.

"Miranda Tate," I offered. "You can call me Mandy."

I shook his hand and smiled as he brought my hand to his lips. My heart skipped and I felt a sudden attraction to the man. It was strange, my reaction and feelings towards these strangers. It was like I had a new way of thinking, a new personality.

"Let me just say it is a _pleasure_ to meet you, Mandy," he said releasing my hand. "May I introduce Doctor Martha Jones…?"

The pretty black woman stood up from her chair and offered me her hand. I looked her over with approval. She had on a simple light blue shirt, jeans, and a black leather jacket. She gave me a warm smile.

"It's nice to meet you, officially," she said. "I'm glad you pulled through."

I assumed she was from England like Donna by her accent; although they seemed to have different dialects. _She has a pretty voice_, I thought.

"Doctor? You took care of me then, I'm guessing."

"Yeah. But I couldn't really do much."

"Thank you either way, Doctor Jones," I told her.

"Oh, no. Just Martha is fine."

"Is the Doctor…?" I pointed toward the door.

The three of them looked at each other and then back to me.

"He's probably setting the coordinates on the TARDIS," Donna said sounding annoyed.

"Just go out the door and follow the hall down the right," Martha offered.

"Thanks."

I smiled apologetically and excused myself, setting my cell phone on the table on the way out. I hoped they would let me go alone. I was thankful when no one followed me out. I found the Doctor in the control room, clicking buttons and shifting levers.

"Doctor?"

He didn't turn to look at me; he just kept fiddling with the controls.

"What can I do for you?" He asked distractedly.

"I wanted to thank you…"

"What? Oh, yes. You're welcome," he said reading a screen. "Did you finish the tea?"

"Nearly. Why? What's so important about tea?"

"A superheated infusion of free radicals and tannin. Heats the synapses. Trust me, drink more. Otherwise you'll be in bed for days."

I stared at him a minute and could sense the sadness and unease of having me in the room radiating from him. I supposed that had to do with the regeneration as well, this sudden empathy. I walked up to the panel and ran my hands down the crystalline tube in the center. I heard the TARDIS purr at my touch and I smiled. The Doctor stopped what he was doing and watched me oddly.

"You're a beautiful thing…" I said, stroking the living machine. "I haven't seen one in years."

I felt the TARDIS's telepathy reach out to me in a form of embrace. I sighed. I looked at the Doctor and he met my eyes. We stood there staring at each other in silence before I finally brought myself to say something.

"You saved me," I said matter-of-factly.

"No…"

"You did. I was fighting my regeneration completely. I couldn't remember that it was a normal and necessary process. I feared it. If you hadn't connected to me I would have died," I told him.

The Doctor looked away and started pressing buttons again. In the back of my mind I felt a soft hum, an awareness. The Doctor was a Time Lord, and I could sense him, subconsciously. I reached out with my mind, trying to find the connection that would link me to the Time Lords. I felt no one. Just that one consciousness. I thought back to when I had left Gallifrey with my mother. The war…

"Are they really gone? All of them?" I asked tearfully.

My mother had locked all this knowledge, all these memories, away when we had left Gallifrey. Now, because of my regeneration, all of it came tumbling back to the surface. I had been so young when the invasion began. And I'd been taken away from my home before I'd even been taken for my first initiation as a Time Lord. I felt my chest tighten. The Doctor glanced at me sadly.

"Yes. They're all gone."

I felt a tear roll down my cheek and turned, brushing it away. I'd had family once; family that… that was all gone now. All of them. But what about Gallifrey? What had Donna told me before? '_They all died when his planet… was destroyed.' _I looked at him.

"So we're…"

"All that's left," the Doctor confirmed.

I looked at him then, really looked. He'd said it with such cold precision; like it didn't even faze him. Maybe it didn't. I didn't know how old he actually was, or how long it'd been for him since the war. I took a deep breath and caught the scent that was distinctly his own, as all Time Lords and Ladies were able to do in order to tell each other apart. Something in me stirred.

"So we both got away… my mother brought me to Earth to protect me. But she died the next year," I told him.

I didn't know why I felt the need to tell him that. The Doctor met my gaze. I stared into his eyes and they were like fire and ice and rage and I felt like I was being sucked in. He broke eye contact and it was like coming out of a daze.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I saw her, your mother, in your memories when you were regenerating."

"I always sensed I was different," I said ignoring his last statement. "I always felt like there was something wrong with me. I felt like a part of me was missing. I was right of course. I am different. But then, I'm different from you too aren't I?"

He let out a long breath and crossed his legs as he leaned against the machine.

"What I can't figure out is why you don't register as Time Lord. I can pick up the human part but the rest of your biology just doesn't register. It's like the human part of you overwrites all else…"

"My mother told me my dad was human, maybe that's why?" The Doctor shook his head doubtfully. "She said my father was a special man, a fixed point. She'd tell me she met him on one of her travels."

"Who was he? Did he have a name?" He asked.

I shook my head. "She never told me. But it wasn't the man we lived with on Earth. She told me my father was a selfless man. But the man _we_ lived with, when my mother died, he killed himself. Leaving me… alone," I said staring at the floor.

I felt the Doctor step closer to me but I didn't look at him this time. I was trying not to let my emotions get the best of me. I felt years of unshed tears bubbling just under the surface.

"I'm sorry. I find myself alone a lot as well," he said. "Still, it gets easier I suppose. You get used to it."

"How have you done it? Kept going?" I asked him.

It was an honest question. So many times I had wanted to give up on life, wanted to run and not stop. I looked at my left arm and saw the faint white lines of scars. For some reason my regeneration hadn't healed the scars, it wasn't going to let me forget what I'd done to myself.

The Doctor gripped my wrist and turned my arm over to take in the many scars. He looked at me with a mixture of distaste and understanding. I prepared myself for the scolding most people gave me.

"I do the same thing you know," he said quietly.

I looked at him startled.

"You…"

"No. I don't cut. That seems a bit…excessive. Dramatic," he said with a cocky smirk.

I was tempted to smack him and frowned.

"I quite often find myself in harm's way more times than not. Numerous times I've been in dangerous situations or… mortally injured so badly I had to regenerate. I think sometimes I do it on purpose, as a way to punish myself for all the things I hate about the world and can't fix. And for all the mistakes I've made along the way."

I stared at him, in a way that made sense to me. I was always angry with myself for one thing or another. I made one blunder after the next and no matter how hard I tried to fix it I couldn't. I wished I could go back to before I'd come to Earth_… And do what?_ I wondered. _Die with everyone else? _A question popped into my head.

"If we're the last ones left, what happens when we…"

He released my arm and looked up at the ceiling. "Let's not worry about that right now, yeah?" He rubbed his hands together and forced a smile on his face. "Now. Let's see about getting you back to your planet–"

"Too bad it's gone," I said absently.

He looked at me dejectedly before he went back to working the controls. "Yes, well. I myself have dozens of planets to visit still. Herica, Biorca, Jadzilot, ZYD 11. Best get you home before anyone really starts to miss you. Are you ready?" He asked.

_Ready? Yeah, sure. Why not?_ After all, he apparently was more than happy to be rid of me. Even though I was all that was left of his race and he was all that was left of mine. I wanted so badly to see all those planets, see what he'd seen. I could just imagine all he'd learned, all the knowledge he possessed. I wanted to know all those things too. Fat chance of that. Back to Earth I was going.

"Sure. Great!" I said sarcastically and stormed back towards the kitchen.

I felt the floor give a slight tremor as the TARDIS set for its destination. I entered the kitchen, storming past Martha, Donna and Jack at the table, and began opening cupboards. It was then I realised the kitchen had been completely put back together. I wondered who'd cleaned it up while I was out for the count. Part of me felt rude for invading the privacy of the three people watching me closely. I sighed in frustration looking at the tea the Doctor had told me to drink. I recalled a book I'd found when I was still living on Gallifrey. _Hmm, I wonder_…

"TARDIS?" I asked the air. "Liquor?"

I felt the shift of energy in the room as a bottle of vodka appeared on the counter. I smiled, pleased with myself. I remembered that in one of the books I'd had as a child had explained that a TARDIS was capable of moving an object from one room of the ship to another.

"Did we know the TARDIS could do that?" Martha asked amazed.

"I don't know, I never directly asked it for anything," Donna said.

I grabbed the bottle and twisted the lid off. I took a large swallow as I turned to look at the three of them. They were staring at me with a look of surprise on their faces, as if they didn't quite understand me. I sighed and took a smaller sip of vodka from the bottle.

"Dare I ask what the matter is?" Martha asked.

"I vote the Doc is as clueless as ever," Jack stated. "How about sharing?"

"That _stupid_, _outer_ _space_ _dunce_! Honestly! That man doesn't have any idea what's under his nose until it's smacked him in the face," Donna retorted.

I stared at them in confusion. I held the bottle in mid-air as they discussed how stupid the Doctor could be. Apparently they were as pleased with him as I was at the moment. What I didn't catch was that it was his obliviousness towards me that had them irritated.

"Umm…" I offered.

"I'll talk to him. Believe me. There isn't _anything_ I can't get across to him!" Donna said to me before storming out of the room.

Jack and Martha grinned after her. They heard the resounding slap and an echoing '_what was that for?_' and they cracked up laughing.

"Ah, you gotta love Red!" Jack said grinning widely.

I was surprised when I felt my body heat up as I watched him get up from his chair, his muscles flexing as he did so. An unfamiliar desire to run my hands over those muscles startled me. I decided I'd spent way too much time with Shaye. Between her and my other friends I was surrounded by constant perversions and uncontrolled sexual energy. I licked my lips watching him cross the room to me. Oh, lord, I needed new friends… I guess I stared at him a bit more than necessary and he winked at me as he walked over.

"So," he said, leaning in close to my ear. "Like what you see?"

I gulped and felt myself blush. I heard Martha get out of her chair and leave the room. Oh, why had she done that? I heard the Doctor's and Donna's voices echoing down the hall, arguing over something. I tried to make out what they were saying but Jack pasted on a gorgeous, seductive smile and slowly pulled the bottle from my hand taking a large gulp. I felt my heart flutter and my body start to grow warm. He handed it back to me and I sipped it, tilting my head and arching an eyebrow suggestively.

He made a growling sound in his throat and I felt my breath catch. What was I doing? I was never like this. I didn't hit on people. Especially not with sexual undertones. What was happening to me?

"So… how do you like your new body?" He asked, tracing a finger around the mouth of the bottle in my hand.

"What?" I asked distractedly.

I found it quite hard not to focus on his lips. I watched the corner of his mouth turn upwards into a seductive grin. I resisted the urge to taste it with my own, but just barely.

"Your body. How do you like it?" He asked again, picking up a strand of hair and gently letting it slip through his fingers, brushing his knuckles over my chest as he did so. I felt my face flush.

"I… I…"

"Oh, don't start!" I heard the Doctor yell irritably from the doorway.

Donna and Martha followed the Doctor in. He walked over and pulled Jack away from me giving him a reproving glare. The Doctor gave him a light shove towards the door.

"I was just… I can't believe you told on me!" He said to Martha like a disappointed child.

"Come on, gorgeous," Donna said breathlessly. "You can try your cheap tricks on me."

Jack got a mischievous glint in his eyes and winked at me.

"Well, I tried," he said and I gaped at him.

Donna grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the room. I thought I saw him reaching for her rear but decided I was seeing things as they disappeared from sight. That was until I heard the delighted squeal from Donna and decided _okay, maybe he had been_.

The Doctor was staring at me as I brought the bottle of vodka to my lips in amusement and I heard Martha make an 'eh-hem' sound. I saw her arch an eyebrow at the Doctor and then give a quick nod towards me. She then turned on her heels and marched out of the room. I stared at the floor uncomfortably before taking another shot of vodka. I saw his hand reach out and take the bottle from me.

"Hey…" I started.

"You don't need this on my TARDIS," he said sternly.

"Funny. You're TARDIS is the one that _gave_ it to me, so apparently she agrees that I do," I said reaching for the bottle.

"I guess my TARDIS and I are going to have to have a little chat," he said to the ceiling warningly.

He held the bottle out of reach and over his head. I knew there was no way for me to get to it unless I climbed him; he was well over six foot and the odds of me being able to jump that high was slim to none. I considered the option of tackling him and winning but then I was feeling quite dazed all of a sudden.

Apparently this new body didn't hold liquor as well as the other. Feeling daring, I leapt for the bottle just as he went to set it down and he caught me around the waist. We both struggled for the upper hand and I turned and knocked him off balance. We tumbled to the floor. He stretched his right arm out with the vodka as far as it would go while holding me back with the other hand. I tried to crawl over him to reach it but he sat the bottle down and wrapped his arms around me before spinning me onto my back. He glared down at me as he pinned my wrists above my head.

"I told you no!"

I arched an eyebrow panting slightly from the exertion. Something about the way he said that rubbed me the right way.

"I'm not a disobedient pet. And if I was I would have bit you by now. On second thought…" I said, as if I was considering doing just that.

He arched an eyebrow at me and gave me a slightly lopsided grin.

"I have never had so much trouble in my life with a girl. You were a timid thing before that regeneration. Now you're like a female Jack…"

"Really? I _thought_ something felt different—I guess I am a bit…"

"Feistier?" The Doctor supplied, still sitting on me.

I looked up at him and laughed.

"Maybe a bit, yeah," I admitted.

There was an awkward silence as I saw it dawn on the Doctor what he was doing. I saw the look on his face register shock and he cleared his throat. I took a deep breath and his scent clouded my senses. I felt my heart start to race and… I gasped.

"What?" He asked with a frown.

"My chest, it feels-"

He seemed to understand what I was attempting to say.

"You have _two_ hearts, Miranda," he said to me. "You're feeling the double beats. You'll get used to it."

"Two hearts…" I tried to pull one of my hands out from underneath his and he allowed me to do so. I placed it over my right side and my eyes widened. "Has it always been there?"

"No. Time Lord's are born with one heart. Our second develops as we get older. Yours just hadn't started functioning until your left heart gave out and it kicked in to save you. You're probably only just noticing it due to a rapid acceleration of beats per second," he explained.

"Oh," I stared up at him processing that information, I'd never learned that when I was little. "And it's Mandy."

"What is?"

I rolled my eyes and he glowered down at me.

"My _name_. Don't call me Miranda."

"I happen to like Miranda," he said before noticing the look I was giving him and rolling his own eyes. "Oh, alright then."

Movement drew my attention away from him and I glanced past his shoulder to see Jack sneak into the room. The Doctor was staring down at me and when he took a deep breath an odd look crossed his. I glanced at Jack who put his finger up to his lips and grinned like the devil. I looked into the Doctor's eyes and felt myself drawn to them. Suddenly I felt that odd stirring again in the pit of my stomach. I realised I was actually _attracted_ to him. I blushed and turned my attention back to Jack who was now standing right over us. He reached down and pinched the Doctor's bottom.

The Doctor jumped and landed flat on top of me, squishing me into the floor and I gasped for air even as I cracked up laughing. He rolled off embarrassed.

"Jack," the Doctor hissed at him.

Martha's and Donna's laughs joined mine.

"Nice and firm," Jack growled, winking.

I couldn't help but like Jack. I couldn't wait to introduce him to Shaye. I had a feeling they'd hit it off right from the get-go. The Doctor pulled himself to his feet and stood there giving Jack a reproving glare.

"Okay, you two," Donna teased. "There will be plenty time for that later."

She lightly shoved the Doctor out of the way as she helped me to my feet discreetly, considering the already short dress had wandered up during mine and the Doctor's tumble. She winked at me before turning to stare at the Doctor.

"Well? Come on, Martian boy. Time a wastin'."

He led the way to the control room of the ship and he steered us through the vortex back towards Earth. The Doctor insisted I take a nap before we got there and I did so reluctantly. I'd be home in just a few minutes and I couldn't have been sadder about it.

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	4. Home Sweet Home

**Author's Note: To all of my new readers, here we are at chapter 4! I hope you enjoyed the last chapter, but if you've gotten this far you must've liked something. Thank you so much for sticking with the story this far and I can't wait for your reviews. **

**This story has been going through a rewrite process. From now on I'll post when I've done any editing to the chapters. Some of the changes may be minor, some a bit more major. So be sure to browse through the chapters when you see an update note to be sure you don't miss the changes. These could be critical to the story making sense in the future. Please read and review. Anonymous reviews also welcome.**

**Visit my site for more fan-fictions, book covers, and extras: poison candy . weebly . com**

**Visit my deviantArt for all my Doctor Who art: mandy trimm . deviant art . com**

**Chapter Update: 4/4/13**

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**CHAPTER FOUR: HOME SWEET HOME**

**xxxMANDYxxx**

I stumbled out of the TARDIS feeling quite ill. Our landing had been like riding a mechanical bull. The Doctor stepped out behind me and grinned broadly. Martha, Jack, and Donna sauntered out behind him. Martha stopped to put a hand on my shoulder as the others looked around them.

"You alright?" She asked.

I took a deep breath and nodded. Who'd have thought that you could get spaceship sick? Of course I knew that my regeneration was also partly to blame. I looked around me at the familiar houses and could see my house down the way. I recognized three cars parked out front and smiled.

"Not too bad a landing," the Doctor said cheerily.

"Speak for yourself," I grumbled.

They laughed at me as I started walking towards my apartment. Martha and Donna had talked the Doctor into staying to visit while I'd taken a nap onboard. After all, Jack's vacation had been cancelled due to unfortunate events… me.

"What're your friends like?" Martha asked curiously.

"Well, Shaye is a sweetheart. She's fun, and caring, and easy to get along with. I've known her a long time now. I don't know how many times we've had people say we're 'attached at the hip.' She's a bit protective of me, but then again I think all my friends are. Clifton is the life of the party, always good for a laugh. He's a model and a good poet. I love his poetry. He and I have a lot in common. Kindred spirits his mom calls us. We both have a love for cats, pink, and Hello Kitty. Amongst a million other things. Not too bad on the looks either," I added for the two women's benefit.

Donna noted, with amusement, that through my regeneration I had acquired the Doctor's habit of speaking at great speed along with his tendency to ramble.

"What about the other two?" Donna asked.

"Mitchell and Zollie?" I asked, grinning without realizing it.

"Yeah, them."

"Mitchell is fairly intelligent. Okay, really intelligent. He's also incredible with computers and anything else digital or electronic. He was going to be a psychologist but changed his mind. He decided the only reason he'd even considered it was because he likes to analyze people and mess with their heads. Most people take everything he says seriously because he can make even the most ridiculous bullshit sound true."

"Sounds familiar," Jack said, looking at the Doctor.

We were getting close to my apartment door and I straightened the little black dress I'd borrowed out of the closet of the TARDIS and adjusted it. I wasn't wearing a bra since the one I'd been wearing when I'd regenerated was gone. I realized as perky and round as they were now I didn't really need one. The modern matte jersey dress featured a flattering shirred front bodice that hid my nipples and a dramatic asymmetrical hemline that made my legs look stunning. I checked the tie of the halter neck straps making sure it was securely tied still. I didn't want any accidents.

"So... what about Zollie?" Martha asked as we reached the front steps.

"He's my little drummer boy," I said with a smile. "He plays drums and guitar phenomenally. He's really funny. He's also a huge fan of rock music. Our favorite band is Disturbed. Which, we used to joke, made so much sense about us. He also likes a good party. He's usually the first one drunk. But he's not a bad drunk. Just a drunk, drunk…" I said, hoping I made sense.

"So you haven't seen them in a while?" The Doctor asked.

There was a hint of something in his voice when he asked and I looked back at him as I opened my front door.

"I haven't seen Shaye in six months. The rest? Longer, still," I said thinking of Mitchell. "We live all over the place so it makes it harder to keep in touch."

"Don't you have any other friends?" Martha asked glancing around my entry way as we entered the apartment.

"No," I told her honestly.

I looked around my entry way and noted the four pairs of shoes and jackets hanging in the closet. I reached out attentively to stroke one jacket in particular. I took a deep breath and recognised the scent immediately. I smiled. Somewhere overhead music was playing.

"Come on. They probably can't hear us," I said heading down through the hall.

The Doctor followed on my heel with the others right behind him. I heard the muffled sound of Katy Perry blaring from the stereo in my bedroom upstairs. It was Shaye's and my favorite song. I hummed with the lyrics as I led my guests up the stairwell and the music got louder. Outside my bedroom door I took a deep breath and opened it.

I was greeted by a blur of dark brown hair and tan skin flying at me. I nearly fell off my feet but landed against the Doctor as Shaye engulfed me in the tightest hug of my life. I noticed she had bags under her eyes and knew she hadn't slept much. Her brown hair had grown out past her shoulders and layered so it fluttered prettily in soft curls. She was still tall and thin, and looked great in a black and green dress.

"Oh, thank god!" She said, pulling away from me.

She held me out by the shoulders to look me over. Her eyebrows rose in surprise at my new appearance and I noticed the familiar shine in her brown eyes telling me she liked what she could see. Longing flowed through my chest and I leaned forward, wrapping my arms around her neck and kissing her deeply. I'd missed her, more than I could even express with that kiss. I heard the boys' shouts of approval and I released Shaye laughing.

I was so overcome with emotion that I didn't notice the looks of shock on Martha's and the Doctor's faces, nor the amused ones on Donna's and Jack's. In all honesty, I'd completely forgotten them at that moment.

Zollie was sitting backwards in my desk chair, leaning his elbows on the backrest as he tapped in rhythm with his drumsticks to Katy Perry's 'Extra Terrestrial'. Even sitting down he was still tall, an even six foot if I remembered correctly. He was wearing one of his many band t-shirts and a pair of distressed jeans with blown out knees. As usual he had his hair closely shaved to his head with some intricate pattern shaved to the scalp. I crossed the room to give him a hug and he tapped his rhythm on my rear.

"Zollie!" I exclaimed half-heartedly.

A tall blur of curly hair bounded from the bed out the corner of me eye, swept me up, and spun me around. I laughed delighted as Clifton spun me in a circle, never letting go.

"I missed you," he said smiling happily.

I looked him over as he placed me back on my feet. He was dressed in typical high fashion designer clothes. Working as a model he had to dress in designer in and out of the studios. I smiled up at him. He seemed to have topped Zollie's height by two inches in the past few months. I reached up and ruffled his curly blonde-brown hair like a puppy and laughed as he just gave it a wild shake to drop it into place again.

"I missed you, too!" I said, as a tear escaped to roll down my cheek. "How's work?"

"Hey, now! None of that," he laughed wiping away the tear. "As for work… 'wear this, stand like that, sit pretty'. Same ol' shit."

I laughed and turned to look at the last person in the room. Mitchell was sitting casually in my chair by the window, waiting patiently for me to make my way to say hello. I felt like time had stopped as I stood there just taking in his presence. I realised why the Doctor had seemed so familiar to me, he was an older embodiment of Mitch. The two of them shared the same hair style, aside from the fact that Mitchell was ginger, a fact I'd later learn would annoy the Doctor. They were both six feet and four inches tall, they had the same body shape, aside from musculature. Mitchell had very toned muscles from constantly riding and working on his bicycle. Not that I could compare his muscles to the Doctor's, I'd only seen him in a suit so far.

I noticed a dark five o'clock shadow that told me Mitchell had left the house in a hurry; he'd skipped his daily shave. I glanced into his hazel eyes and saw that fierce loyalty he'd always possessed. Mitchell smiled at me softly and I walked towards him. He looked me over with curiosity. It'd been a year since we'd last seen each other. He looked exactly the same, where I had changed completely. Inside and out.

He stamped out his cigarette and slowly rose out of the chair opening his arms to give me a hug and I rushed into them. I tucked my face into his chest trying not to cry as he breathed in the scent of my hair. I took a deep breath of my own and smelled the familiar scent of coffee, cloves, and cologne that was distinctly his. The same scent that clung to his jacket downstairs. He ran a hand through my long blonde hair.

"You look amazing," he said to me. "Your hair has never been so long."

Just the sound of his voice had a comforting effect. I laughed, pulling it all over one shoulder. "Thanks, I decided to take your opinion and drink miracle gro for a while."

He laughed keeping an arm around me as I looked up into his bright eyes.

"Seriously though, I guess a lot has changed."

He glanced past me to look curiously at the group standing in the doorway. I turned to see that the others were staring at them too. I took a deep breath. What was I supposed to tell them? '_Oh, hey, guys. Let me introduce you to the people that kidnapped me in their spaceship when I got attacked by aliens. Oh, and then they had to save me because I nearly died when I got crushed by a cabinet. But don't worry, turns out I'm actually an alien that can't actually die, I just turn into a different person_.' I saw the Doctor looking just as nervous as I was as to what I'd say.

"Umm, guys. This is Donna Noble…"

Donna smiled politely as she shook all their hands, exchanging 'hellos'.

"This is Dr. Martha Jones…"

Martha shook all their hands and Mitchell held hers a little longer as he looked her over.

"What kind of doctor?" He asked.

"I'm a medic," she told him. "I used to work in a hospital."

"You quit?" He asked surprised.

"Actually I work for UNIT now, Unified Intelligence Taskforce."

Mitchell nodded although I wasn't sure he actually knew what UNIT was; I myself assumed it was something similar to the Navy.

"You could always stay with _us_," Jack offered Martha.

Martha shook her head with a smile. "I also work with _this_ guy. I'm his liaison and medic, on short-term secondment from UNIT."

Jack shook everyone's hands with a large smile.

"Captain Jack Harkness. And it is a _pleasure_ to meet you!" Jack said with a wide smile to Shaye as he kissed the back of her hand.

Shaye's smiled widened with pleasure. _Yup_, I thought to myself, _I knew they'd hit it off from the start. Two halves of the same personality. _Jack gave her a flirtatious wink and she giggled.

"_Jaaack_," the Doctor warned. He reached out to shake everyone's hands giving them a bright smile. "You can call me the Doctor."

"You a medic too?" Zollie asked.

"Well, I've done my part now and then," the Doctor said noncommittally.

I noticed that Mitchell and the Doctor shook hands a little longer than necessary, both sizing the other up. The Doctor was the first to smile.

"Miranda tells me you're quite intelligent."

Mitchell looked over the Doctor's navy suit and red converse shoes and returned the smile slowly.

"I'd say well-educated is more an appropriate term," Mitchell said. "Looks like you do a lot of running."

The Doctor glanced at his shoes, rocking on his heels.

"Oh, a bit. Like to keep fit," he joked.

"Keeping fit? Is that what we're doing?" Donna asked sarcastically.

"Oh, come on, Donna! Look at you! Never looked better! You can thank _me_ for that."

"I'm gonna thank ya alright," she grumbled.

I offered to grab drinks if everyone wanted to get comfy. Mitchell sat back down to have another cigarette by the window, Zollie stayed in his chair at the desk, and Clifton's sat on the floor near Mitchell's chair. The others arranged themselves on the bed or the sofa. While everyone started to get to know each other Shaye offered to help me carry drinks. I agreed immediately, I'd enjoy the one-on-one time with her.

We walked downstairs to the kitchen and I found my cat curled up in a chair. I smiled lifting him up and cuddling him to my chest. He meowed sleepily at me and purred affectionately. My cat, Jesse, was seventeen years old this year. I'd had him as long as I could remember.

"Mommy missed you too," I cooed at him.

I set Jesse back down in the chair, turning to look at Shaye and I noticed a troubled look on her face. I immediately opened my arms for her and she slowly walked into them, lowering her head to my shoulder as she wrapped her arms around me. Even having grown two inches she was still five inches taller than I was.

"Don't ever scare me like that again," she mumbled into my shoulder.

I squeezed her tightly, feeling awful. I loved her so much. She was the only family I'd ever truly have. I hated to hear the fear in her voice, especially knowing I was the one that put it there.

"I won't," I said. "I promise."

She straightened herself and smiled. She ran a hand through my hair gently.

"You've grown your hair out pretty quickly," she observed. "And you've lost a lot of weight."

"Oh, yeah. Do you… what do you think?" I asked.

Her hazel eyes sparkled, meeting my bright green ones.

"I love it. All of it," she said, with a teasing grin. "You look good enough to eat."

"Couldn't have put it better myself!" Jack said from the doorway startling us. "Sorry girls. Am I interrupting?"

Shaye's eyes lit up and she smiled at him mischievously. I stared from him to her and shook my head. _Oh, no. Please don't do this now! _I prayed.

"Interrupting? Not at all," she said. "In fact, I was just thinking we could use one more…"

Jack grinned and stepped into the room, challenge accepted.

"Well, good thing I came down then. After all, one's never enough."

Shaye circled behind me and smiled lecherously at him as she ran a hands down my arms. _Oh __**hell**__ no!_ I thought and knew I had less than ten seconds to…

I stepped away and turned to go to the fridge, hoping to put as much distance between the two of them as possible. I'd known Shaye too long, been caught up so many times just this way… Shaye reached a hand out to me and pulled me into an intimate kiss before I had the chance to even realise her mouth was on mine. _Too late,_ I thought. I felt my body respond as it always had to her, but this time all those feelings raged to the surface with a fiery hot intensity.

Somewhere I heard Jack's low whistle. _Oh, no. Not now. Please, not this time._ I lost my breath as my hearts pumped blood through my veins faster than normal. I wasn't used to two hearts and I wasn't completely recovered from the regeneration. And yet despite my foggy mind yelling warnings in my head I couldn't pull away. Something inside me craved her every touch and my body refused to respond to anything but its own needs.

Shaye's hands found my face and they travelled slowly down to my shoulders and around to my back. She pulled me tightly against her and I knew she was seducing Jack. I was just her ammunition; unfortunately she'd be bringing me down with them. Through the fog I nervously remembered I had four more men and two women still upstairs waiting on drinks and I couldn't stand the embarrassment if one of them walked in now.

Shaye's hands loosened from my back and she put her head back to moan. Jack's mouth was nipping tentatively at Shaye's neck, her favorite spot. _Screw the drinks_. Taking advantage of my sudden freedom I pulled quickly out of her grip and headed for the door, trying to catch my breath. Blood was pumping heavily through my veins and I felt oxygen deprived. Every nerve begged me to turn back around. Jack caught me by the arm and I was forced to do just that.

"Oh no, you don't. My turn," he said pulling me back towards them.

"I-I've actually got to go upstairs," I heard myself say.

Shaye laughed and grabbed my other arm. "Oh, Mandy. You're such an innocent."

Jack gave my arm a tug and caught me as I stumbled off my feet. His lips crashed onto mine, deliciously warm. Rationality screamed at me. _This isn't right. Not a good idea. You're not thinking properly!_ But I felt myself mold against him the same way I had Shaye. How did I get myself into these situations?

I realised they _always_ started with Shaye. But usually I was able to stop, able to walk away. Shaye's hands drifted down my back as she leaned in to nuzzle my earlobe. A moan grew in my throat. Suddenly I was light headed, my body felt like it was burning, glowing, trying to take control. All reasonable thought felt like it was getting further and further away. Virgin panic fluttered to life in my chest as Jack's hands found their way down to my rear.

Somewhere in my mind I begged for help and somewhere in my mind something answered me, a rush of calm and strength washed over me and I could sense another presence in my mind. I tugged at it, begging it to help. I felt for that connection in the back of my mind. I pulled my face away from Jack, gasping for air as his lips travelled down my throat. I tried to think, tried to breath. My body felt like it was out of control, I was losing control, I wasn't strong enough. _Help_, I thought. _Help me. Something's wrong, stop me!_

Before I'd even finished the thought a familiar voice split the air.

"You," I heard the Doctor's voice snap. "Upstairs, now!"

Jack pulled away from me as if he'd been slapped. He glanced at me and then back toward the Doctor grinning.

"Sure you don't want to join, Doc? I've got a girl to spare," he joked.

Shaye's hands left my stomach as she stepped away from me to look at the Doctor with a grin. Despite the fact that Jack had asked the Doctor to join he was backing away. I put a hand to my chest, willing my hearts to slow down.

"Enough," the Doctor said. "You've had your fun. I swear to Rassilon I'll drop you on a dead planet with no food. And no vortex manipulator."

Jack's eyebrows rose and he glanced at Shaye who giggled. He grinned and offered her his hand.

"Apparently we're being put in time out."

Shaye laughed taking his hand and letting him lead her past the Doctor.

"Spoilsport," she told him.

I stumbled backwards toward the table to lean heavily against it. My hearts pounded in my ears. I couldn't bring myself to look at the Doctor. Out of the corner of my eye I saw he'd lost his brown coat and had his hands deep in his trouser pockets. I could see a look of curiosity and confusion on his face.

"You called for me."

I stared at him, my brain still not working with me. My blood was racing, my heart was pounding, and there was a whistling in my ears.

"No one has been able to call me like that for a really long time."

"I was getting lost," I managed to gasp clutching my chest.

The Doctor led me to the table and sat me down in an empty chair. He brought a stethoscope out of his pocket and he listened to my hearts one after the other. "Your hearts are still pumping too fast. They should have slowed down by now." He watched me oddly.

I laid my head on the table. I was suddenly feeling very warm and tired.

The Doctor kneeled beside me as he whipped a pair of specs from his breast pocket, slid them on his face, and then retrieved his sonic screwdriver from the same pocket. He played with it a second and then waved it up and down my body as it made a high pitched whistling noise.

"What are you doing?" I asked trying to sound casual but not quite pulling it off.

"Scanning you. Like I did when you were on the TARDIS," he said. "The range of functions of my screwdriver are almost limitless: interception of signals ranging from transmit beams to conscious thought; medical diagnostics and repair of organic parts; cutting and reattaching together materials such as wires; operating Earth machinery such as computers and cash machines; creating a spark to light a candle. I can remotely detonate explosives and activate missiles. I can use it to interface with the TARDIS's central console, even do it remotely from outside the ship. It can open almost all kinds of mechanical or electronic locks using high-kinetic sonic waves, except deadlock seals. Of course I can also lock doors using the reverse setting. Even better, I can blast a door clean off its hinges if I don't have time to dawdle with the locks…."

On and on he rambled as he scanned me and I stared at him in disbelief. He could talk _so_ much! And he didn't even appear to need to stop for breath. I was tired just listening to him. He clicked his screwdriver off and looked at it. His eyes drew up to look me over in confusion.

"What?" I asked.

"Your biochemistry is out of whack. That and every neuron is functioning at overdrive."

"No, you think?" I asked sarcastically.

"How old are you?" he asked me curiously.

"Twenty-one remember?"

"Twenty-one… you were eight when your mother brought you through time…" He paced back and forth pulling his hand through his hair and thinking aloud.

I couldn't catch half of what he was saying. He was talking faster than I could comprehend. He startled me when he jumped and clapped his hands in front of me.

"That's it!" He exclaimed. "Oh, of course. How could I have not realized! It makes so much sense, you're just a teenager, the chemical reconstruction's beginning…"

I stared at him in confusion. He was attempting to explain something to me but in his excitement the words were indistinguishable and I had no idea what he was saying.

"…So all you need is a mate!" He finished.

I blinked at him and felt my mouth drop open.

"What?" I asked stupidly.

"A mate! You're feeling the genetic effects of being part Time Lord. Most women on Gallifrey had many mates in order to keep their bodies chemicals balanced. It's one of the more unfortunate gifts for our species. Of course, I suppose it depended on the opinion. Honestly I found it a bit of a nuisance. Although thankfully it only affects the women. So you must've reached the prime age for a Time Lady when your body starts to crave the connection of a Time Lord. Usually it's a gradual process but because your mother sealed everything away your regeneration brought it on all at once. Your hormones are raging out of control because of the sudden chemical imbalance. That's why you're so attracted to the others. Oh, that makes so much sense as to why you couldn't control your mind. Your body needs the chemicals to be balanced and craves a connection but it doesn't realise the connection can only be made with another Time Lord. It just knows what it needs and takes over…" He blundered on and on as if I wasn't in front of him.

Frustrated, and honestly a bit overwhelmed, I smacked him across the face. He looked at me in shock.

"What was that for?" He asked, holding his cheek.

"I'm. Right. Here!" I enunciated.

"I can see that!" He exclaimed.

"Stop talking about me as if I'm just some…. animal!" I yelled, tears coming to my eyes.

I wiped them away angrily. I didn't know why this man bothered me so much. I found myself liking him and yet he irritated me beyond belief. And here I was sitting in the middle of my kitchen being analyzed by a man that just walked in on me being seduced by my best friend and a complete stranger. God, maybe he was right, I was such a whore. I voiced this thought unknowingly and the Doctor looked at me harshly.

"You aren't a whore. Haven't you been listening to a word I've been saying?" He asked crossly.

"I would if you didn't say a thousand words a minute and I could comprehend the words coming out of your mouth!" I said agitatedly.

He sighed and grabbed my shoulders forcing me to look into his eyes.

"This is completely natural," he told me. "What's happening to you has to do with being a Time Lady. Your body has reached a sort of maturity that _all_ the women of Gallifrey go through. That includes males as well in a way. Your body is ready for a mate. Obviously you aren't ready for that mentally but your body is reacting to the chemical imbalance. That's why you were unable to walk away. That's why your mind wasn't able to tell your body to just go. Time Lords and Ladies are two halves of a whole. Together the chemicals balance out. You need a mate. Pure and simple."

I stared at him. If this situation was anything it was _not_ simple. He spoke to me as if I were a patient in a hospital. Slowly and calmly so I would understand, with no emotion, completely professional. But I wondered if he realised what he was telling me.

"What do you mean I _need_ a mate?" I asked nervously, that virgin panic bubbling up again. "I mean, do I _need_, need a mate? Or is there, umm, medicine or something to…"

"Well, a part of it _is_ the need of a physical connection. The chemical construction of a Time Lord's body functions similarly, in this aspect, to an animal. It's instinctive for Time Lord's to seek out a mate. On Gallifrey it was nothing, customary even, to just find someone you fancied and, well, _that_ doesn't need explaining."

"But I don't understand! How can a physical connection fix a chemical imbalance?"

"Blimey, you haven't had any training at all have you?" The Doctor asked surprised. "Right, only eight, wasn't important yet. Okay, well, blimey… haven't had these talks for a while. Oh, I'm getting too old for this…"

"Doctor! What happens?"

"When Time Lords mate a physical connection is made as well as a telepathic one. As… eh-hem, things progress the chemicals that reside in each gender increase and at the release both can draw in the chemicals their bodies need to balance out. And that's what's happening to you. You're just a teenager in our terms, and this is the first wave. That's when the actual process begins," he explained.

My head swirled as I tried to make sense of this. The part of me that was Time Lady understood the whole explanation as if it was common sense. But the part of me that was human didn't understand and didn't want to. I was still a virgin, what the hell did I need a mate for? I was just a tween in Time Lord years; a child compared to him. The aging process stopped for Time Lords at different points and my aging process had stopped at seventeen, although my regeneration at least let me mature a couple years. So why, being as young as I was, did I need to mate now? Another thought hit me.

"And so the _only_ way to get this chemical imbalance leveled out is too mate with…" I asked fearing I already knew the answer.

"A Time Lord. Time Lords thankfully don't go through what the women do. We just have the chemicals they need. Unfortunately it's the pheromones the Time Ladies give off that make it so we have to. Once we've gotten the scent that's it. The chemical imbalance for the women lasts about fifty years, and then hits about every hundred. Bit inconvenient really. But I suppose it was easier for me, male, and all that. But like I said, the most difficult part is the scent awareness. We have exceptional noses as it is but the slightest scent of the pheromones can set us off. It's controllable of course, the cravings, just very difficult to rein in as time goes on. Time Lords give off carriotonic proteins through mating. Which is all you need…" He stopped suddenly.

His face went from that of a doctor to a deer in headlights. He backed away several large steps and swept his hand through his hair frantically. He began muttering profusely to himself as he a paced a tight line. His face growing ever more appalled by the second.

"A Time Lord," he repeated over and over.

I knew he was thinking over exactly what he'd told me. All my body needed were Carriotonic proteins, a chemical that I could only get from a mate. A _Time Lord_ mate to be exact and unfortunately for us both he was the only one left. He stopped pacing and looked at me in horror. I looked away and refused to meet his gaze again. There was no way. I'd have to deal with this forever. He'd never be able to help me with this one. Especially because I was part human. Most Time Lord's were disgusted with the idea of mating with humans. I was tainted.

I felt my hearts give a dull ache. All I ever wanted was for someone to want me, love me. To find someplace where I fit in or was accepted. Someplace I could finally belong. But because I had mixed blood there would be no way for me to ever find someone. I considered the idea of having an actual Time Lord, the Doctor, as my mate. But he'd never, and how could he? I was no one. I was a stranger, some part human child going through puberty in his eyes.

"Martha!" He exclaimed.

"What?" I asked confused.

"I'll get Martha. Stay here! She'll figure this whole thing out," he said determinedly. He whipped his glasses off and pocketed them.

I watched him rush out of the room and felt the first tear roll down my face. I got up from my chair to follow him; I didn't want to be left alone. It was the same as always. I was something that someone had to figure out, another problem to be fixed. I knew who I needed, I knew who would always think of me as nothing but perfect. I went upstairs and passed the upstairs bathroom. It was slightly ajar and I heard the Doctor repeating everything he'd told me. I assumed he was with Martha since that's who he'd said he was going for.

I entered my bedroom. I was right; Martha and the Doctor were the only ones missing. The White Stripes blared from my stereo speakers and Mitchell was sitting in the chair by the window, singing along.

'…_Lots of girls walk around with tears, but that's not for you. You've been looking all around for years for someone to tell your troubles to_.' I smiled at the lyrics, the lyrics Mitchell had been singing to me for two years. How fitting the song was right now. '_Come and sit with me and talk awhile. Let me see your pretty little smile. Put your troubles in a little pile and I will sort 'em out for you…_'

I met Mitchell's eyes sadly as I sat down on the bed next to Shaye. She was flirting outrageously with Jack who was happily returning the attention. Clifton, Donna, and Zollie were laughing and talking and I smiled. They all seemed to get along quite well. No one seemed to notice my troubled expression, or even the redness of my eyes from crying.

Mitchell stared at me for a while and I attempted to give him a reassuring smile, a smile he saw right through. He lifted himself out of the chair and came to stand in front of me. He reached down and took my hand in his, gently tugging me from the bed. I walked with him out of the bedroom leaving everyone behind.

He led me past the bathroom, inside I could hear Martha talking to the Doctor. From the tone of her voice she wasn't pleased. I forced myself to keep walking as Mitchell led me to my spare bedroom. He opened the door and stepped inside the doorway, never letting go of my hand. He turned and looked at me when I didn't follow and I saw the question in his eyes. I stood there in the doorway with him; just looking in his eyes. I heard the bathroom door open and from the corner of my eye saw the Doctor and Martha step out to stare openly at me.

I didn't turn to look at them as Mitchell reached out to grab my other hand. I saw the Doctor step my way but I allowed myself to be pulled into the bedroom. Mitchell shut the door behind me and pulled me into his embrace.

"It's okay now," he whispered as he held me close. "You're okay."

I felt myself break down into sobs and he lifted me into his arms as if I weighed nothing. He carried me to the bed where he curled around me like he always had, just holding me while I cried my hearts out. I silently hated the Doctor for invading my life. I didn't want to be a Time Lady. I didn't even want to be a human. I didn't want to be anything. Mitchell could sense that, although he didn't know the reason for it.

Why, when my life was already unbearable, did everything have to become so much more complicated? And why, despite knowing the Doctor only a couple days, was I hurt so much by the fact that he wasn't attracted to me and didn't want me? I hated him for not wanting me, although I knew it was unfair, stupid even. I cried harder when I felt the Doctor's irritation through the connection only I would ever be able to feel.

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	5. Odds and Ends

**Author's Note: To all of my new readers, I hope you enjoyed the last chapter! I'm hoping it wasn't too boring. If it was, don't worry. The fun and excitement is coming, just stick with me a little longer. I can't wait for your reviews. **

**This story has been going through a rewrite process. From now on I'll post when I've done any editing to the chapters. Some of the changes may be minor, some a bit more major. So be sure to browse through the chapter when you see an update note to be sure you don't miss the changes. These could be critical to the story making sense in the future. Please read and review. Anonymous reviews also welcome.**

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**Chapter Update: 4/4/13**

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**CHAPTER FIVE: ODDS AND ENDS**

**xxxTHEDOCTORxxx**

The Doctor was surprised to see Mandy standing in the middle of the hall when he came out of the bathroom with Martha. He'd been getting advice from her in hopes she'd cover up his clanger. After a thorough scolding it turned out he was the one that needed fixing. Not Mandy.

It was then he noticed that she wasn't alone; she was holding someone's hand. He took a step forward just as another hand reached out of the door and lifted the one lying at her side. She stepped slowly into the room and he heard the door click shut. Oh, this was just wonderful. He should have known. He'd saved her from one tryst already and now he had to rescue her from another.

He headed for the room she'd disappeared in fully intent on interrupting this ridiculous little situation. He'd told her to wait where she was. He'd said he'd be back hadn't he? Why was it that whenever he gave orders for people to do something they never seemed to follow them? Martha grabbed the back of his jacket.

"Don't, leave her be," Martha ordered.

"But it's my fault. I just left her and should have known she'd wander off," he said.

"It is your fault but you won't be doing her any good barging in on her. I mean, honestly, what did you expect?"

"I expected her to do what I told her to do. Wait for me to come back down!" He said as if that answered everything.

"Oh, yeah, cause when you say jump we're to say how high," Martha said sarcastically.

"Now you're getting it," the Doctor said.

"You can be real thick sometimes you know that? How did you know you had to go downstairs earlier?"

"I told you, the TARDIS telepathically transferred her thoughts from her head to mine..." It was a lie, but he didn't want to tell her since Mandy had regenerated he'd been able to feel her, sense her.

"Right, so any messages coming in now?"

The Doctor paused. "No."

Martha sighed. "Exactly. You and I both know who probably started that little ménage à trios downstairs," she made a mental note to slap Jack later. "Now stop for just a moment and think about how she must be feeling."

"I don't understand what feelings have to do with this…"

"You never do, nine hundred years and you're as clueless as ever. Look, three days ago she was a normal girl. Work, school, friends. Simple, normal life. Now she's been hunted by aliens, kidnapped by another one-"

"Oi!"

"-was severely injured on the TARDIS, regenerated into a new person, and is now having to cope with a new body, a new personality, and from what you've told us she's probably having to deal with all the memories of her family on Gallifrey coming back. Doctor, think of what that could do to a normal person mentally. She's uncertain right now. Embarrassed. Confused. And then you start doing a full body scan with your bloody sonic screwdriver!"

"She was having problems with her hearts. Her blood levels were way higher than normal, even for a Time Lady. I wanted to know what was causing it," he said defensively.

"Of course she was you dunce! That's because they…you know what? Just think really hard about it."

He did. He thought about it detail by detail. Suddenly his eyes widened.

"Oh…" he said stupidly. "How was I supposed to know? I don't exactly have to go around rescuing people from _themselves_!"

"We're people, Doctor. Not _toys_ you can just run your little screwdriver over and figure us out. Especially not women! You're rubbish enough with feelings as it is. Even your own. Speaking of things you're rubbish at… what the hell were you thinking by telling her about all this? Did you even think it through before you laid out the whole 'she needs to mate with a Time Lord' thing, which inconveniently would be _you_ since you're the only one _left_! In case you missed that."

He stared at Martha opening and closing his mouth, his voice seeming to fail him. He _had_ realised that _after_ he'd blurted it all out. He was so preoccupied with figuring out what was going on with her that he didn't even think twice about explaining it to her.

"Well, hell has indeed frozen over. You've actually been rendered silent! Do you plan on helping her with this little problem now that you've stupidly told her?"

"Of course. I'm sure I can create some form of a chemical compound in the lab aboard the TARDIS… what?" The Doctor asked seeing the look of disbelief on Martha's face.

"A chemical compound?" She repeated incredulously. "A chemical compound! Oh, you are an _idiot_!"

He watched Martha turn and stomp towards Mandy's bedroom. He grabbed her elbow in confusion.

"What? What did I do now?"

"You can be really thick! You are a Time Lord, the last of your kind. She is a Time Lady, also the last of her kind. You could help her with her little… problem if you'd just give her the chance to know you. If you'd just give her the chance you were going to give the Master!"

The Doctors mood darkened drastically.

"That was different…"

"How? How is it different? You said yourself, 'maybe I've been traveling too long. Now I have someone to care for.' Well you have someone to care for again and this time the person actually _needs_ caring for!"

"Caring for someone and giving them a good shag is not the same thing!"

"I thought you _wanted_ a mate?" Martha asked remembering a conversation Donna had told her she'd had with the Doctor.

"Excuse me?" He spluttered.

"A mate! Isn't that what you told Donna you wanted?"

He did tell Donna that and oh did he put his foot in his mouth there. Unfortunately for him it hadn't occurred to him that it would be something she'd discuss with Martha. Oh, he should have just kept his mouth shut.

"_I just want a mate," he'd said sadly._

_Donna looked at him horrified. "You just want to mate?"_

"_I just want _a mate_!"_

"_You're not matin' with me sunshine!" Donna said hiding behind the TARDIS door._

"_I just want _a_ mate. I want _A_ mate!"_

"_Well, that's just as well 'cause I'm not having any of that nonsense!"_

Yeah, the Doctor should have known she'd not have kept that little tale to herself. Martha caught the dejected look in his eyes and reached out to take his hand. He gave it a quick squeeze before letting go.

"You have to understand what you do to people, Doctor," Martha told him quietly. "You make people care about you, want to help you, protect you. You get us so eff and blind caught up with you that we can't even go to the market without you crossing our minds."

The Doctor felt his hearts sink into his stomach. He remembered Martha's parting words when she'd left him and the TARDIS to move on with her life.

"'_Cause the thing is, it's like my friend Vicky. She lived with this bloke, student housing, there were five of them, all packed in, and this bloke was called Shaun. And she loved him, she did, she completely adored him, spent all day long talking about him…"_

"_Is this going anywhere?"_

"_Yes! Cause he never looked at her twice. I mean, he liked her, that was it. And she wasted _years_ pining after him, _years_ of her life, cause while he was around, she never looked at anyone else. And I told her, I always said to her, time and time again, I said 'Get out!' So this is me… getting out."_

The Doctor rubbed his face. I'm an idiot, he thought. I'm completely rubbish when it comes to feelings and a complete and total idiot! Oh, Rassilon, if only I'd realised sooner... What have I done to warrant this? Giving me companions who fall for me when I could never return their feelings? Why do the ones I _am_ capable of loving get taken away? He looked at Martha wishing he could take back all his mistakes. Oh brilliant, beautiful, Martha Jones. He didn't deserve her.

"See? There it is!"

"What?" The Doctor asked.

"That look! The one you give me all the time, the one that says 'I love you' when you don't!"

The Doctor's jaw unhinged, he was doing it again?

"You give women this 'come hither' look and make us think you're interested but all you want is company. You're a bloody flirt and you don't even realise it. Nor do you apologise for it! And speaking of apologies you never apologised for that falsified kiss you gave me when we first met! All you'd done beforehand was blather on about how it meant nothing! And what about being stuck with you in 1969? Did it even cross your mind to ask how it was for me? And then you send me around the world for a year, alone, with no one to think of but you! Do you think about any of us at all?"

The Doctor was silent. He felt numb with every mind-blowing question. He'd made a lot of mistakes and he was paying for them now. Martha had never complained, not once, over the time they had shared. She followed him admirably without question and asked for nothing in return. He had taken advantage of that whether he'd meant to or not. Martha was a well practiced physician and part of her job was to read symptoms and analyze people's responses and actions. He knew she was correct with her observations and that made it worse for him.

He heard Mandy give a heart wrenching sob and had to stop himself from going to check on her. It was instinct to help someone when they cried; this regeneration had been doing it a long time... with Rose, with Martha, with Donna… Oh, he hated this regeneration. It was his regeneration's fault. Holy Rassilon he could be an idiot. All because this ridiculous regeneration was a natural flirt and had a tendency to use expressions that could be misinterpreted, according to Martha anyways.

His hands whipped to his hair as he began to pace. He tugged and pulled while he thought everything through. He remembered numerous arguments with Donna over his 'whining'. He didn't whine! Nor did he throw 'hissy fits' as she so often accused him of doing. He had become rather irate with her one day when she'd pointed out something called 'puppy-dog eyes'. Apparently he did a number of these things without realizing it. One of the many good things about Donna is when he tended towards doing any one of these things a slap was sure to follow it.

The Doctor stopped pacing and let his hand drop to his side. Martha looked at him sadly. He didn't even realise that if he would just give himself the chance to open up and care about someone he'd be so much better. If only he could realise that Mandy was just what he needed; someone of his own kind to care for. She remembered what he'd said the time the Doctor had saved the world from the Master.

"_What happens to me?" The Master had asked._

"_You're my responsibility from now on. The only Time Lord left in existence," the Doctor said watching him._

"_Yeah, but you can't trust him!" Jack exclaimed._

"_No. The only safe place for him is the TARDIS."_

"_You mean you're just going to keep me?"_

"_If that's what I have to do. It's time to change," the Doctor said turning to Jack and Martha solemnly. "Maybe I've been wandering for too long. Now I've got someone to care for…"_

That was just before the Master's wife had shot him. She'd never seen the Doctor break down like he had when he held the Master's dead body in his arms. The Doctor hadn't been the same since, but he put on a happy face and acted as if it didn't faze him at all. It was just another false front to cover just how lonely he really was.

Martha knew he wasn't getting involved with Mandy due to this memory. He wasn't going to even give her the chance to do to him what the Master had; leave him. She'd seen the best and worst sides of him but this side was entirely new to her; the side that just wasn't going to try. That just wasn't her Doctor. Her Doctor never gave up on anyone without a fight. Partly due to his Superman complex.

Martha decided she would have to have a talk with Jack and Donna. Somehow they needed to figure out a way to get him and this girl alone to talk. Force him to get to know her if they had to. Make him realise she was worth the effort. Martha loved the Doctor with all her heart but she'd given up on him a long time ago. Now it was up to her to help him find love in Mandy. That, unfortunately, would not be an easy task. He hadn't so much as blinked over a woman since Rose Tyler. Oh, how she loathed Rose Tyler…

"Come on, Mr. Smith. Let's go see what darling Donna and Jack are doing," she said and led him into Mandy's bedroom.

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The Doctor was preoccupied as he sat in Mandy's room staring at the decor. Her room was very mature. Not what he'd have expected at all. Even Martha's apartment was a mash of colors and bits and bobs; shambolic and infantile. Mandy's room was painted a light cream. She'd ornamented the room with a rich purple, the color of royalty. He rather liked the creativity she'd put into arranging the room. From the cream bookshelf by the closet to the purple lamps on the cream colored bedside tables.

He could smell her on the curtains and on the blankets. One of the advantages of being a Time Lord was the ability to tell people and creatures by their scent. It had helped him track aliens numerous times. It also helped to tell Time Lords and Time Ladies apart when they regenerated. Though they wouldn't have the same appearance they'd smell the same.

He breathed deeply and caught the intermingled scents of Martha (lavender), Donna (cherry blossom and honey), Jack (aftershave and musk), and the other two boys mixed in with the scent he knew belonged to Mandy. He could smell it everywhere in the house, seeped into the very fabric of the house, it was a pleasant smell. He related it to apples and spun sugar. He shook his head slightly to clear the scent from his mind and focus on something else.

Martha and Donna cracked up as Shaye told them the story of when she and Mandy had went to their first party together. Apparently Mandy had never drunk before and was a bit of a lightweight. She'd gotten drunk much faster than expected and had gotten 'ridiculously cute and cuddly' in Shaye's words. He could tell there were parts to the story she was skipping over. He wondered what those parts were.

He glanced at the clock. Mandy and the boy, Mitchell, had been gone for a half hour now. He felt himself getting restless as he sat there waiting. He needed to do something. He excused himself and he felt Martha stare after him as he left the room. He decided to have a look around Mandy's apartment, maybe he could get to know her better by seeing how it was she lived every day.

He discovered she was fairly neat. She also had an eye for coordination. Upon going through some closets he noted that she had a weakness for fashion and apparently had a bit of an obsessive compulsive disorder. She had closets full of clothes and shoes, sorted by size and then color. He stumbled upon a cat litter box and a feeding and watering dish in a little room just off the stairs. He remembered seeing a gray cat sleeping in the kitchen when they had arrived. He took a deep breath. She kept the house clean. He caught the faint scent of dust that lingered in places she couldn't reach and cat hair under things she couldn't move.

The upstairs was rather a decent size; two bedrooms, one full bath, a closet in each bedroom, and two hallway closets. Downstairs was the living room, kitchen, another full bath, and two closets. Scattered throughout the house were pictures of her friends.

"_Don't you have any other friends?"_ Martha's words echoed through his mind.

"_No."_

He found it hard to believe that she only had four friends. But as he scanned each picture he realised that maybe it was true. The only people in the pictures were the four people upstairs. He was skimming one of her many bookcases in her living room when someone entered the room. He looked up and saw that it was Mitchell.

Mitchell watched the Doctor a long time before stepping farther into the room. He ran his hand delicately across a photo of Mandy and himself at a park before he said anything.

"Is it true?" Mitchell asked him.

"What?"

"That she isn't completely human. That you aren't."

The Doctor should have known she'd probably tell him about the situation out of emotional distress. He'd somehow believed she was simply looking for a quick shag after he'd left her in the kitchen. He was surprised to find himself relieved that she hadn't. But then maybe they had. His mood soured a bit.

"So, she told you."

"Not exactly. She was rambling because she was crying. It just slipped out with the rest."

They were both silent a moment.

"Yes," the Doctor said. "It's true."

"What are you then? She didn't say."

"We're called Time Lords. A race of people dating as far back as creation itself. We're guardians, in a way, of time and space."

The Doctor didn't bother to elaborate or go into detail. Mitchell seemed like an intelligent young man, if he had questions he would ask them.

"So you aren't human then? You just look like it."

"Correction, you look Time Lord, we came first. I'll wager a guess that you two are quite close and there isn't a lot she keeps from you. For that reason I'm guessing your next question will be why Miranda has never told you about _this_ before."

"That would be one of them, yes."

"Her memories were sealed away by her mother, a Time Lady, so that she'd live as a human when they left our planet. There was a war centuries ago and in order to save her she was brought to Earth."

Mitchell looked skeptical but he thought it over silently. He didn't fire out random questions or demand details. The Doctor waited patiently for the next.

"Why does Mandy remember now?"

This one would be a bit difficult for him to understand so he spoke slowly.

"When a Time Lord is injured instead of dying they will regenerate. They will still be the same person with the same memories but they will look different and quite often their personalities will also change. Mandy was unfortunately injured whilst on my ship. Her body regenerated in order to save her. In the process her sealed memories were also restored."

"But she doesn't look different at all…"

"Doesn't she?"

Mitchell paused and shook his head.

"I haven't seen her nearly as much as I should lately. I admit I've neglected her for a few months at least, we all have. I just figured she'd lost weight and grown her hair out in the time we were gone."

"Yes, well. I was surprised myself when she remained fairly unchanged through the regeneration. I myself look nothing like my 8th or 9th…"

"Wait a minute! How many times do you regenerate?"

"Time Lords have thirteen regenerations before they die. This is my tenth self. The youngest body I've ever had."

"Thirteen… youngest? How, how old are you?"

The Doctor smiled in spite of himself.

"Take a wild guess."

Mitchell frowned. He crossed his arms and the Doctor noted that his biceps bulged when he did so. The Doctor was mildly surprised by this, he didn't look particularly strong, but then again he supposed that he didn't either. Donna had told Martha that he himself was 'a long streak of nothing' and 'so skinny he'd give you a paper cut'. The Doctor sized Mitchell up and noted that they were completely equal. Except that Mitchell had the fortune to be ginger. He'd akways wanted to be ginger. Why couldn't any of his regenerations be ginger?

"You're age isn't that important. What about Mandy? What happens to her now that she's remembered what she is?"

"Nothing. She goes on living her life as usual."

"But shouldn't she go home with you? Back to whatever planet they sent her away from?"

"No. Our planet is gone, destroyed in The Last Great Time War. We have no home anymore. Nor are there any more of us left. We're it."

"You mean you have no family? It's just you and her?"

"Yes. I believe that's also part of the reason she's so emotionally unstable. She's remembering all of it at once. It's overwhelming. She senses that our planet is gone. She knows it's just us and it must be like getting kicked in the face. When she was last there we were still hundreds, thousands, more."

"You have messed up her entire life you know that?" Mitchell asked him irritably. "We've spent so much time giving her some sense of normality and you have just upturned everything we've worked to do."

The Doctor was considerably surprised by this. That wasn't the statement he was expecting. He'd expected questions about Gallifrey, about its people. He knew it was his fault she'd gotten hurt. Rule 302, whilst aboard the TARDIS a companion's life is in your care. But there was something about the way Mitchell said that…

"_We've spent so much time giving her some sense of normality-" _

"Why would you need to give her normality?"

"Mandy has had a difficult life, alright? This isn't the first time people have invaded her life."

The Doctor stared sharply at him.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Mitchell sighed rubbing the back of his neck. "It's not my right to say. I'm just telling you, she's had a hard time coping since… since some bad things happened. And we'd finally set her on a path she could live happily, normally. Now you've got her upstairs sobbing her eyes out because you think she's a whore."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! I did _not_ say that!"

"Maybe you didn't but she thinks you do."

"Why should anything I think matter anyway?"

"That's my point exactly. There's something about you that gets to her. Now explain to me what the hell she's crying about."

"What she's crying about?" The Doctor repeated.

"Don't play games with me," Mitchell said angrily. "I'd give my life for that girl up there. She's like a little sister to me. And when I see that you've upset my little sister it makes me a little less polite. So if you want to keep that nose of yours intact, _Doctor_, I'd suggest you tell me what I want to know. Now."

"I don't take kindly to threats," the Doctor said warningly.

"And I don't take kindly to aliens kidnapping Miranda and getting her nearly killed."

They stood there, staring at each other, both intent on making their points. The Doctor finally sighed, dropping his shoulders.

"I'll tell you what I told her. It's not my fault she's blown it all out of proportion."

"I'll be the judge of that, thanks."

The Doctor glared at the young man before explaining the whole process Miranda was going through.

"So you are the last one of your kind, you and her, that's it?"

"That's it."

"So you're telling me that the only way to make her better is to have a one off with you?"

The Doctor watched him tensely. Mitchell looked like he'd happily wipe the floor with him in three seconds tops. Good thing he had alien physique on his side. Though he hoped this wouldn't come to blows, human men did love to sort out their frustrations that way.

"No, absolutely not." The Doctor told him.

"But if she has to mate with a—what was it? Time Lord? And if you're the only one left she'd have to be with _you_."

_Why do people keep reminding me of this fact?_ The Doctor wondered sourly.

"Yes, well. I hadn't exactly thought about that before I'd told her…" He admitted. "It all just sort of slipped out."

"So how the hell can you fix her 'biology' then?" Mitchell asked him seriously. "It didn't bother her before this regeneration thing."

"I know it sounds bad," the Doctor told him apprehensively, "but I have no intentions of… helping… in that way. I'm hoping I can get some sort of serum that can give her the amount of carriotonic proteins her body needs."

"Well, thank God for you then," Mitchell yelled. "Where would the world be without the _Doctor_? How are _you_ going to manage that?"

The Doctor stared at Mitchell for a long time. He could tell that he cared about Mandy deeply. He took a deep breath. He caught the scent of cigarettes, coffee, and some form of hairspray or body wash on the boy. There was the feint scent that he recognised to be Mandy's scent about him as well. He frowned.

"I don't know," the Doctor told him honestly. "I'm not the greatest with people. I can try to create some sort of remedy in the lab to see if I can overwrite her body's hormonal acceleration."

"You make her sound like an animal in heat," Mitchell said slowly.

"Well, in a way she is. We aren't human. We have our own times of mating. At a certain age the females become aroused to our scent. Their bodies are heightened in awareness and…" the Doctor stopped talking when he caught the boy's death glare.

"She isn't just some toy," Mitchell said, voice low. "Whatever happened in that kitchen wasn't her fault. She's not like that, she never will be."

The Doctor could tell this was a sensitive topic. He tried to steer it off in another direction. He didn't much want to have to think about it himself.

"I'm well aware of that. She's a woman. Pure and, well, I was going to say simple but I've come to discover they are most definitely anything but simple. Now, I can promise you I will try to set right the problem her regeneration has caused. I can't guarantee that anything I do will work or that I'll even be able to find a way to help but I'll try…"

"Mandy is family to me," Mitchell said interrupting. "And we're all the family she has. She's strong-willed, compassionate, and empathic. She's always willing to help someone who needs it, even the people that hurt her the most. She's a mature woman capable of caring for herself but don't let that fool you. She's innocent, Doctor. The most innocent woman you will ever meet. And I'd protect that with my life. Protect _her_."

The Doctor felt the honesty in his words. Mitchell was telling him that he trusted him to take care of her but if he screwed up he'd probably be shot on the spot. Whether she'd be in his hands temporarily or permanently he didn't care, he just wanted to be sure that the Doctor didn't do anything stupid and hurt her.

"I'm not good with companions," the Doctor told him. "I've misled some of my closest ones and hurt them unknowingly. I can't guarantee I won't botch everything up with her. But I'll protect her when she's with me. I won't let her come to harm."

"Good," Mitchell said. "Cause otherwise you'd better be prepared for that eleventh regeneration."

"Duly noted," the Doctor said.

"What's your real name?" Mitchell asked him absently. "It can't just be the Doctor."

"I go by John Smith more often than you'd think. It's an alias of sorts. You wouldn't be able to pronounce my real name even if I told you; it's in my mother tongue. People everywhere call me the Doctor."

"The Doctor? As in _just_ the Doctor?"

"Yup."

"Fine, _Doctor_. It was nice meeting you."

Mitchell looked at his wristwatch before heading back for the stairs. He pulled out a cigarette and then rummaged through his pockets. The Doctor assumed he was looking for a lighter. He checked his pockets and pulled out a series of things; cash, cigarettes, change, receipts, keys… he found the lighter and was about to light his cigarette when he paused. He watched him double check his contents, then again. A panicked look crossed Mitchell's face and he ran back for the stairs. The Doctor followed a step behind; he knew trouble when he saw it.

"What's wrong?"

"My pocket knife is missing!" Mitchell said hurriedly.

The Doctor thought about it and the image of him holding Mandy's scarred left arm drifted to the front of his mind. He sped up his steps as they reached the landing. He and Mitchell raced down the hall. Mitchell grabbed the doorknob to the bedroom but it wouldn't turn.

"She's locked it!" Mitchell said startled.

"I've got it," the Doctor said pulling out his sonic screwdriver. "Go get Martha!"

Mitchell raced down the hall to the other bedroom as the Doctor heard the lock to the door unlock with a click. He tucked the screwdriver in his pocket as he shoved the door open. The first thing he noticed was that Mandy was on the floor near the bed, curled up in the fetal position, in all appearances asleep.

She clutched the pocket knife tightly in her fist. She heard the Doctor enter and felt her anger rise. She didn't want to see him. She didn't want anyone. She just wanted to be left alone. The Doctor kneeled beside her wrapping his large hand around her small one. Slowly he pulled the knife out of it. She didn't open her eyes.

"Miranda…"

"Don't," she whispered. "Just don't."

"I'm sorry…"

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	6. Resolution

**Author's Note: This story has been going through a rewrite process. From now on I'll post when I've done any editing to the chapters. Some of the changes may be minor, some a bit more major. So be sure to browse through the chapters when you see an update note to be sure you don't miss the changes. These could be critical to the story making sense in the future.**

**Visit my site for more fan-fictions, book covers, and extras: poisoncandy . weebly . com**

**Visit my deviantArt for all my Doctor Who art: mandy trimm . deviant art . com**

**Chapter Update: 4/6/13**

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**CHAPTER SIX: RESOLUTION**

**xxxMANDYxxx**

I opened my eyes to look at the Doctor. I felt so strange. Ever since regenerating I'd been feeling more and more altered, like I was slowly changing. I was remembering memories I knew were my own but they felt so wrong. I'd spent my entire life being Miranda Tate and now I felt like this other girl was invading my mind and body. On the one hand I _was_ Miranda Tate; normal, human, nobody important. On the other hand I was Leétoiléangegardien; Time Lady, princess of Gallifrey, and the Guardian of Time and Space since my mother had died.

I couldn't take remembering it all. Remembering that my mother had ran from Gallifrey to save me, the princess that needed to live for the future. She'd deserted all of our people on a planet doomed to death in order to save one child. Here I was, still alive, while the only person I had left connecting me to my home planet was a moron that called himself the 'Doctor' and all he'd managed to do was make things worse for me. I knew that wasn't fair, he'd saved me twice now. I owed him. But at this moment I was too upset to care.

"Fine. You're sorry."

I turned away from him but he put his hand on my shoulder to stop me. I tried to move away but his hand was firm and he didn't remove it.

"I made a mistake. I know that you are feeling out of sorts with the regeneration. I'm sure your body is exhausted. It takes me weeks sometimes to recover from my own. I also know that your mind must be overwhelmed with the returning memories that have been restored. I should have thought about it before I told you what I did in the kitchen."

I turned my head to look at the Doctor again, his knees were bent and he was sitting on his heels. I suddenly noticed that he was wearing bright red converse shoes with his navy blue suit, why I noticed that random detail at this specific time I had no idea.

"I also shouldn't have left you alone after blurting out what I did. I should have sat down and discussed it with you. I'm sorry I just…panicked once I'd realised what I was saying. It's been a long nine hundred and three years and you become a bit… daft after nine regenerations. This regeneration hasn't been the best for me so far. It's rude and, according to Martha and Donna, a natural flirt. Which I'm not used to, nor know how to avoid. It's also not ginger. I really did want to be ginger. The next regeneration had better be ginger…"

I sighed but couldn't help but smile a bit. His incessant rambling was entertaining. It was like his brain was a bit scrambled. I was pretty sure he was bordering on the insane.

"Doctor… you're rambling," I told him.

"Right, sorry. This regeneration has a tendency to do that as well…"

He was interrupted as Martha hurried into the room followed by Mitchell.

"Is she alright?" Martha asked hurriedly.

"Yes, she's fine. Oh, here. Your pocket knife," the Doctor said tossing the knife to Mitchell.

"Thanks. Mandy, are you okay?" he asked me directly.

I rolled over so I was facing the Doctor completely but I didn't look at him, I looked at Mitchell. My sweet Mitchell, he'd been so caring, so loving. He'd been there for me for so long now and I'd never truly thanked him. I felt the need to do so now.

"Yes, I'm alright. Thank you, Mitch."

"It's fine…"

"No, really. Thank you. For everything."

Mitchell stared at me a while but then he offered me a small smile.

"You're welcome."

"So… we were talking about walking down to the restaurant around the corner. Why don't you and Mandy meet us there?" Martha said slowly to the Doctor.

"What? Oh, right. Yeah. We'll be along…"

He stared down at me and I shrugged, I still wasn't happy with him, but I seemed to be running hot and then cold so who knew, maybe ten minutes from now he'd be my favorite person in the world.

Martha linked her arms around Mitchell's arm and smiled sweetly at him. "Come on, Mitch. You can escort me there. Mandy says your very tech savvy and I'd like help with this new phone."

"Alright. We'll see you in a bit," Mitchell told me.

I watched them walk out the door and decided there was no point in lying on the floor anymore. I got to my feet and the Doctor rose with me. I turned away from him and crawled onto the bed. I collapsed onto my left side and facing the empty side of the bed with a sigh. The Doctor plopped onto the bed beside me and he tucked his right arm under the pillow as he rested his head on it. We lay there, his face a few inches from mine, staring at each other for a while. He really didn't have any clue just how his actions could come across.

"You do realise that most normal men would not crawl into bed with a woman…"

"Why? We're only lying here," he said confused.

"Yes, Doctor. I know. But usually if you get in bed with a woman or you invite one into yours it's taken as you like the person romantically."

"Oh, that's ridiculous! I've slept in the same bed as Martha many times and…" He stopped and groaned. "Oh, Rassilon! No wonder Martha fell in love with me!"

"I'm sure it didn't help that you made great eye candy either," I said and then mentally slapped myself.

The Doctor stared at me a minute caught between embarrassed and flattered. Finally he made a slight coughing sound and changed the subject with a slight grin.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

How _did_ I feel? Emotionally or physically? I asked him this.

"Both. But let's start with the regeneration after effects. How are you physically feeling?"

"Well enough, I'm kind of tired. Mostly I think I'm just still in the shock phase of, well, physically changing. I'm me…. but I feel entirely different. And this long hair is nice. I've always wanted long hair… it'd never grow. And there's this pressure behind my eyes that aches."

The Doctor reached out and put two fingers against my forehead and the pressure suddenly faded. I sighed.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. It's your eyes, they're still relatively sensitive. That's to be expected. I guess your regeneration liked you more. I was out for a week with this one. And I wanted to be ginger…"

I frowned and shook my head at him.

"I don't think I'd have liked it. Ginger wouldn't suit you," I told him.

"You don't think?" He asked.

"No. You're much better looking with dark brown hair. All messy and untamed…"

"Huh. Well, I guess I'll have to see what my next regeneration goes with. I must say this is one of the youngest regenerations I've had so far. I used to feel like I had to be old and grumpy and important. But now? This younger self? I quite like it. Much faster than some of the others and it's a lot more fun. Dashing around and getting into trouble." The Doctor winked at me. "Although, I've kept some bits of my past regenerations. Well, the brainy specs… and the trainers. Oh, and my voice going all squeaky when I shout. I still do that…"

"You're also a bit cheeky you know that?"

The Doctor stopped talking and looked at me. He'd interrupted me yet again but I wasn't really upset by it. I felt a soft smile on my lips. He had an infectious personality. Even though I was feeling really down and confused he somehow made me feel better, lighter. I wondered if it was this way for all his companions, I figured it probably was.

"Sorry. I also have a terrible tendency to dictate most conversations. Donna of course just slaps me and man can that woman pack a wallop!" He said wincing slightly.

I remembered hearing Donna slap him whilst aboard the TARDIS and felt sympathetic for him. But not _too_ sympathetic.

"You said… you said you were nine hundred years old?"

"Weeeell," he said dragging the word out with a shrug. "Nine hundred and three to be exact, nearly four. Couple months I'd say."

I thought about that. In human time he was ancient. He'd be as old as my great-great-great… infinite grandfather. The Gallifreyan part of me knew that this was a fairly normal age. I remembered knowing Time Lords over two thousand years old when I'd lived in the Royal Tower on Gallifrey.

"How old would you say I was approximately?"

The Doctor seemed to be doing the mental math in his head; I could see his brain working. I giggled remembering a cartoon on TV and imagined his brain making the sounds of creaking gears. He arched an eyebrow at me, seemingly confused as to why I was laughing at him.

"You're the age you've always been. Time passes differently on Earth and so you aged differently as well."

I stared at him in silence for a moment. The idea was a strange one.

"How old were you when… when Gallifrey…"

Just trying to say the words brought tears to my eyes. I felt a lifetime's worth of regret and sorrow over the loss of my family and friends I could barely remember because of the memory lock my mother had created.

"Younger, give or take a couple hundred years…" He said not really answering my question.

"Do you know what happened? What happened to the Shining City? To the Daleks?" I asked needing to know.

"You're remembering things faster and faster aren't you?" He asked.

I smiled sadly. "Gallifrey was in the constellation of Kasterborous. I lived in the Citadel, which contained the Capitol, the seat of Time Lord government. I never was allowed there of course. At the centre of the Capitol was the Panopticon, beneath which was the Eye of Harmony. Never did get to see what all the fuss was about. I was too little."

"No, I suppose you wouldn't have… still, at least you lived within the Capitol freely."

"You didn't?"

"Well, at times. But I was a bit of a renegade."

"Prydonian?" I asked with a lifted eyebrow. "I can't picture you in the Academy's scarlet and orange robes."

The Doctor grinned. "Prydonian I was. Better than the Patrexeans, can you imagine me in heliotrope?"

"My mother always did complain about the number of renegades they produced. I wasn't supposed to hear, but I had a problem with listening at key holes."

"Don't feel bad, me too," the Doctor laughed.

"Will you tell me then? What happened?"

The Doctor was silent a long moment before finally telling me all about the ending of the war.

"How? How did you…?"

"Live?"

"Yes. I know how I survived… my mother took me and ran. But how did you make it out?"

My question hit a chord in him, jarring his sense of stability. I could see the hesitation over saying anything. The Doctor rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. He really didn't want to tell me the truth but he did, quietly. He told me the fate that the Time-Lords inflicted upon him and his part in destroying Gallifrey. He told me about a woman named Romana, how she'd been in a parallel dimension when it happened. Then he told me about the Time War, every detail. I could hear his throat locking up on him as he described Gallifrey's fall and the fate of our people; I could tell it bothered him that he wasn't able to keep his cool exterior.

"It was… you? You made the final move in the deadly game that was the Last Great Time War? You put them in a time lock?"

He turned his head to look at me. He must have seen the anger, and the confusion, and the sadness. He looked back at the ceiling and refused to look at me again. I could tell he didn't want to. He didn't answer me.

"Why? What could have been so bad that you'd seal your own race to that fate?" I asked my voice low.

"They became corrupt in the end, all of them. They were willing to sacrifice all of the universe and time to save themselves."

"No," I said frowning. "The Queen would never have allowed it!"

"No, she wouldn't have. But she disappeared soon after the start of the war. Rassilon took over and everything began to fall apart. And I couldn't let them. It was them or every race, every planet, every universe. If I could have done it any other way I would have. I swear, I would have."

For a long while we lay there, just the two of us, in silence. I didn't move, barely could breathe. Finally he looked at me and in his eyes I could see the truth. The pain in his eyes, the regret. In order to save the future; in order to save the entire universe; in order to save everything that was good. He had done what needed to be done, even though it meant the loss of his friends and family and my own.

I felt the tears roll down my cheeks and fall onto the pillow. We were the only survivors, the only ones left. He reached over instinctively and drew me against his side. I curled up in the crook of his arm and cried. I knew he meant nothing by it; he was simply offering compassion.

"Who was she?" the Doctor asked me once I had shed most of my tears.

"Who?" I sniffed as I wiped my face.

"You're mother? She had to have been important; otherwise she would never have left Gallifrey to its own fate… and the High Council would never have let her."

"Her name was Lerayonnantreine."

The Doctor pulled back from me his eyebrows drawn inwards, eyes wide, mouth open in shock. I suddenly wished I hadn't told him.

"Lerayonnantreine… you mean _Queen_ Lerayonnantreine? You're telling me you're the reason the Queen left?"

"I'm sorry," I said starting to cry again. "I didn't mean to make her leave."

The Doctor looked like he wanted to smack himself.

"No, no! It's not your fault it's just… blimey. Gallifrey's greatest guardian and leader. She was your mother? How could I have not remembered? When you were regenerating I saw her in your memories. Oh, Rassilon. But wait a minute that means that you're… but no… you can't be…."

I stared at him. I knew he was working the whole thing out in his mind. He knew and yet he didn't want to believe. Of all the females to survive after Gallifrey's sad fate it was unbelievable that the universe had indeed saved me. Although it made sense that it would have chosen the heir to the throne of Gallifrey I knew that time did not always go by what was sensible.

The daughter of the Guardian of Time had been saved so that the universe would remain safe. It was the Guardian of Time's duty to watch over the universe and all of time and space; to preside over the High Council, and to intervene only when necessary. That duty had been passed on to the Doctor when I'd been sealed away for protection, since he had been the only Time Lord left.

It was customary, that should the Guardian of Time pass on there had to be an heir to take over, trained from infancy to rule a world that was so vast it never ended. I was it and I was not happy to remember that extremely large detail.

"My name on Gallifrey was Leétoiléangegardien…"

"The Starlit Guardian Angel. The Visionary foretold that there would come a day when you would be the last hope for Gallifrey. I remember her writing down your prophecy; 'when time has passed and the future is new, the Queen's child will be the beginning to our world's end. It will take three and eleven to bring the princess and the healer together. Only then will our future be set.' They sang songs about it for years... they kept you hidden in the towers. No one but the Queen and the highest authority had access to you. Gallifrey's most precious treasure."

I stared at him. His face was a mixture of disbelief and awe. I hated that look. I didn't want to be special; I didn't want to be different. I'd spent my entire human life trying to fit in and be normal. Now I had yet another thing standing in my way of that. I quickly pushed myself away from him and sat up.

"What's wrong?" He asked snatching at my wrist.

"Nothing," I said scooting from the bed.

"Was it something I said?" He asked replaying what he'd said in his mind.

"No, its fine," I said heading for the door.

I heard him spring from the bed and follow after me. But I didn't stop and turn. I really didn't want to talk about this anymore. I headed for my bedroom to change, hoping to hold him off that way.

"I know it must be something I said. You were lying there just fine 'til I opened my mouth."

"Really, Doctor! It's fine. Leave it. I'm just changing my clothes so we can go to dinner. Remember? Restaurant? Friends waiting for us?"

"Right. I'll leave you to it then," he said waiting in the middle of the hall.

I walked into my bedroom, shutting the door behind me. I heard him lean against the wall and rolled my eyes. I opened my closet and began my search for something decent to wear. Everything was now too large since I didn't have to accommodate for a large bust size. I sighed. Everything I _owned_ was accommodated for a large bust size.

"So who've you known longest? Jack, Donna, or Martha?" I called.

"Jack," was the reply.

"How did you stumble upon him?"

"He saved a friend. Rose. He saved Rose. She was my… companion. Haven't been able to get rid of him since. Next question?"

Okay, so he didn't want to talk about Jack or whoever this Rose was.

"What about Martha?"

There was a pause. Okay, was there _anyone_ I could ask him about? I began trying on different shirts and modeling them in the mirror. Oh, this was going to be a long process.

"I met Martha in a hospital," he said eventually. "She was still training to be a doctor then. A Plasmavore took up refuge inside the hospital after murdering one of the Judoon princesses. The Judoon brought the entire hospital onto the moon in order to find it."

"Did they? Find it I mean."

"What? Oh, yes. They sentenced her to death on the spot. I wasn't exactly living at the moment they did so though."

"What do you mean you weren't living?" I asked horrified.

"Ah, well I let the Plasmavore drink my blood under the pretense that I was human. So in order to avoid capture she assimilated my biology and when the Judoon tested her she registered as non-human. But not to worry. Martha saved me and here I am."

I finally found an extra long black and yellow striped sweater small enough that it didn't look like a pathetic hand-me-down. I slid it on and looked in the mirror. It fell to my thighs. Good. I could just slide on some black tights and a pair of heels. It'd look like a dress.

"So, how'd you meet Donna then?" I asked.

"By accident actually," he answered through the door. "One day she just showed up on my TARDIS while I was wandering in space, wedding dress and all..."

"Wedding dress?"

"She was on her way down the aisle when she was transported onto the TARDIS. Anyways, Racnoss had harbored themselves inside the Earth and the Empress had Donna dosed with Huon particles in order to unleash the sleeping Racnoss hidden in the center of the Earth. Turned out Donna's fiancé was in on the whole scheme."

"Poor Donna!" I said horrified.

"Yeah. It wasn't pleasant to watch."

"What happened to the fiancé?"

"The Empress fed him to her children."

"What an ironic turn of events... and the Empress? What of her?"

"Blown up by UNIT when she went back to her ship. I took care of the children. They're all gone now."

I stepped out of the bedroom fully dressed in my sweater, black tights, and black heels. I saw him do a once over before offering me his arm. I looked at him in surprise and he arched his eyebrow at me. I wrapped my arm through his and he led me towards the stairs.

"How long have Martha and Donna been with you?"

"Long enough. I met Donna before Martha but Donna turned me down when I offered to take her onto the TARDIS with me. So when I met Martha I brought her along instead. After Martha left I was alone for quite awhile. I stumbled upon Donna again a year after we'd first met and she agreed to come with me and hasn't left since."

"Are your companions always just women?" I asked him.

"Not always, no. A lot of the time, yes," he said awkwardly.

I noticed a note on the end table by the front door of my apartment. The first thing I noticed upon reaching it was my keys. I read the note and sighed inwardly.

"What's the matter?"

"Fired." I stated handing the Doctor the note.

The note was in Shaye's penmanship saying my boss had delivered my keys and he'd left the message that I should feel free to continue not coming back to work. I was no longer needed. It was signed with Shaye's sincerest apologies for not telling me sooner.

Well, that wasn't good. I had less than sixteen days before I'd have to pay rent and a week from there to pay all my bills if I wanted to live here comfortably. I had enough money saved up for two months tops. Three if I avoided any and all extra expenditures.

"I'm sorry, but you can get another job, right?" The Doctor asked.

"Sure. I just don't know how easily it will be to get one right away. It could take a month or more unless I get lucky. Which, I usually don't. But I don't want to worry about that right now. I've only just realised I haven't eaten anything in days! How am I still functioning?" I asked horrified.

"I believe that'd be the Time Lady part of you. We don't need too much to sustain us."

I opened my front door and stepped out. It was already seven p.m. but it was still bright outside. Darkness wouldn't start to come until nine. I smiled. I loved summer. We walked in companionable silence all the way to the restaurant.

"This is a restaurant?" The Doctor asked outside the brightly lit Bar and Diner.

"Yes. Upstairs caters to a more familial crowd whereas downstairs tends to the more adult crowd. There's a bar, dance floor, and pool tables down there. Oh, but I think there's actually a DJ and karaoke tonight as well."

"Oh, I can just imagine where we'll be sitting if Jack had any say in it…"

"Yeah, I can almost guarantee downstairs is where we'll be. He has Shaye, Zollie and Clifton on his side."

We looked at each other and laughed. He held the restaurant door open for me and I walked in. Scanning the room I noticed there were plenty of families dining here but none of them were my friends. I sighed.

"Downstairs?" he asked.

"Downstairs," I confirmed.

So downstairs we went. We were greeted by Shaye hollering my name and waving me over. I was glad to see none of them were drinking alcohol; at least it didn't look like it. I sat down in the empty space between Shaye and Zollie and the Doctor sat between Martha and Donna.

"I was just telling them about the time we met Shakespeare," Martha told the Doctor.

"Yes, brilliant man. Martha? When did we tell them about…"

"Relax. Jack and I explained the whole situation to them with special commentary by dear, Donna Noble here."

"That worries me even more," the Doctor stated.

Jack drew his attention to a little bag in his hand filled with little pills. He recognised the retcon immediately. So that's why they weren't worried. They'd forget it all by morning. Usually he'd be irritated with Jack for using it so leniently but he had to admit it would make the evening much easier to deal with.

We talked and laughed until a waitress came by to take our orders. We gave our orders starting clockwise with Shaye, Mitchell, Jack, Clifton, Donna, Doctor, Martha, Zollie, and me…

"The usual?" Anna, our waitress, asked.

"Yes, please," I told her handing her my unopened menu.

She nodded her head scribbling on her pad of paper.

"And what would you two like to drink?" she asked.

"Cranberry festive sparkler for me," I told her.

The Doctor browsed through the drinks and handed his menu back.

"I'll have the lime, please. Thank-you."

"Alrighty, one cranberry and one lime festive sparkler coming right up."

Martha and the Doctor described many of their trips and by the time dinner had come we were all laughing happily. It felt almost normal; as if our new guests had been around for years and we were simply catching up.

"Alright, here you all are!" Anna said holding a large tray of food.

She and two other waitresses sat all of our food down and we exclaimed over each other's plates. When we dug in there was silence as we savored our dishes. People were laughing and dancing on the dance floor. The crowd was steadily becoming livelier. I noticed that the bar stools were quickly filling with people ordering various liquors.

"What _is_ that Mandy?" Shaye asked me.

"What?"

"Your funny shrimp dish…"

"Oh, it's called an Ensenada Shrimp Cocktail. It has shrimp, obviously, plum tomatoes, jalapeno and Serrano peppers, and red and green onions. There are seasonings and sauces in it but I don't know exactly what. And…" I said grabbing my lime. "A lime wedge garnishing the glass cocktail bowl."

I squeezed the lime onto my shrimp and picked one up with the chopsticks it came served with.

"It sounds spicy."

"It is a bit. But that's why I get a festive sparkler. The shrimp heats me up and the sparkler cools me down."

"May I?" Shaye asked indicating the shrimp between my chop sticks.

"Of course."

I held the shrimp out to her with the chopsticks and she bit the end. Her eyes widened in surprise as she chewed and I laughed. I bit off the rest of the shrimp and set the tail in a side dish. I handed her my sparkler and she sipped it appreciatively.

"Wow! That was way more than I expected! How do you eat that without tearing up?"

"Oh, you know me. I like it hot!" I laughed.

"Hear, hear!" Jack said taking a large drink of his Coke.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx XxXxXxXxXxXx**


	7. Party Crasher

Author's Note: This story has been going through a rewrite process. From now on I'll post when I've done any editing to the chapters. Some of the changes may be minor, some a bit more major. So be sure to browse through the chapters when you see an update note to be sure you don't miss the changes. These could be critical to the story making sense in the future.

Visit my site for more fan-fictions, book covers, and extras: poisoncandy . weebly . com

Visit my deviantArt for all my Doctor Who art: mandy trimm . deviant art . com

Chapter Update: 10/28/13

**xxxDOCTORxxx**

Dinner was going surprisingly well, considering the past few days I'd been having. So far I hadn't managed to put my entire foot in my mouth. _Probably a good thing_, I thought to myself, _the taste really wouldn't go well with my potato_. I took a look around me, the dance floor was slowly filling and the noise level was slowly increasing the later it got. The barista across the room was mixing drinks as fast as the orders were coming in, which was constant. According to Mandy this was a quiet evening for the place, she blamed it on being a weeknight.

A DJ was setting up his equipment for the evening; Mandy had told them he comes every weeknight from 8pm to 2am. Laughter drew my attention back to the people at my table. Mandy's face was hidden in her arms as her friends laughed. It was interesting to hear stories about Miranda and her friends never ceased to run out of entertaining and embarrassing ones to share, much to her chagrin. Mandy groaned, laughed and added defenses to many of them.

"You should have been there," her friend, Zollie, laughed. "Cutest damn drunk you'd ever see. It didn't help that this one chick kept encouraging her. Spent the whole night meowing at each other and giggling and burrowing in hundreds of blankets."

"Oh, God!" Mandy moaned for the twelfth time that evening. "Can we change the subject?"

I smiled at her sympathetically, even if she couldn't see my face with hers hiding in her arms again. This happened to me quite frequently, more so when Donna, jack and Martha were getting to know each other.

"Clifton wasn't much help either," Mitchell said, pointing a thumb towards Clifton. "He just got under there burrowing and meowing with 'em."

"Hey, man! You guys just weren't cool enough to join in. Not my fault you guys were a couple pansies and had to look all macho and stuff."

"Whatever, dude. When you give up on your Hello Kitty memorabilia collection you can use that argument. Until then, you're the pansy at the table. Seriously, Mandy's got more macho than you," Zollie laughed.

"Ouch," Clifton said, feigning hurt and putting a hand to his heart. "That hurts me, right here."

"Suck my scrotum pole," Zollie said, flipping him off with a grin.

I choked on my water and Mandy's friend Shaye scolded them for their language. I'd been around hundreds of years, but that was a new one for me. Donna and Martha were laughing on either side of me and I cracked a grin while Jack laughed the loudest. These human were a lively bunch; they had a tendency for naughty humor and partying. Just the type of people Jack loved. Martha and Donna liked them a lot too. Martha had gone so far as to say that it was like they were just old friends catching up. He had to admit, he felt the same way.

"Oh, and did we tell you about the day Mandy got her first history test wrong?" Shaye asked him.

"Can we _please_ talk about someone besides me?" Mandy begged swiping her long blonde hair from her face as she lifted her head.

"Oh, now where's the fun in that?" Shaye teased her.

He liked Shaye, not the Shaye that had seduced Miranda in the kitchen but the Shaye that was protective and teasing with Mandy. He could sense the closeness between them in the way they looked at each other, talked to one another, and touched each other. He wondered if there was something there more than friendship and thought of the way Mandy had easily kissed her when they'd arrived.

"Hey guys! How's everyone doing? Still good?" a waitress asked, distracting him from his thoughts.

"Yes, we are. Thank you," he told her with his best smile.

The waitress winked at him, "If there's anything you need you let me know." She walked away swinging her hips a little more than necessary.

I turned back to the conversations at hand and noticed Mandy was giving me a strange look, but whatever it was it was gone as quickly as it came and she turned towards Shaye again. Shaye laughed and Mandy's head landed right back into her arms.

"Wake me when I'm dead," she moaned.

"In our case," I told her sipping my sparkler, "That's actually possible."

Mandy lifted her head to give him a mocking look. "Watch it, I'm armed." She threatened him with her fork.

I reached across the table in one swift movement and Mandy stared at her empty hand with surprise. I twirled the fork between my fingers like a baton and winked. "Yeah, but you're not very dangerous."

"Damn and blast," she complained staring at her remaining utensils. "Down to a spoon and a butter knife."

"The police had never been more on edge," Zollie said.

"Why were the police on edge?" Mandy asked, catching the last part of Zollie's story.

"When that guy in our history class went missing. Remember him?"

I saw the look on Mandy's face and lifted my eyebrows. There was an obvious drop in her mood as she purposely looked away. Her shoulders tensed up and she began poking at her remaining shrimp with a spoon.

"No, don't think so."

I doubted this seriously. You could see from the careful way she avoided eye contact and the lack of emotion in her voice that she was lying.

"Sure you do," Zollie said. "Everybody loved that guy. He was funny; he went from one social group to the next. He got along with everyone. I think he asked you out every day for a whole week before he went missing."

"I don't remember him," Mandy said a little more forcefully.

"I think his name was Mark-"

"Zollie," Shaye snapped at him with a warning tone. "Let it go, she doesn't remember."

The air around the table became heavy as Zollie seemed to realise he was stepping on unsafe territory. They were right, Shaye was like a guard dog with Mandy, and you could almost see her hackles rising. Mandy pretended to be oblivious to the fight and waved down a waitress.

"Right! So, now that dinner's done and we have a whole evening free I say we grab some real drinks and hit the music scene." Clifton said, obviously trying to ease the tension.

"I like this kid," Jack said pointing at him.

"Of course, you would," Martha laughed.

The atmosphere slowly lightened as Clifton ordered a drink from the waitress Mandy had flagged down. Everyone ordered a drink depending on their tastes and it wasn't long before the waitress was back with fruity concoctions and beers. I on the other hand skipped on the liquor.

"You sure you don't want anything?" The waitress asked me.

"I'm sure, thanks."

"Come on Doc. Live a little, what could possibly go wrong?" Jack asked taking a long swig from his beer.

"Plenty," I told him.

Someone had to be on their toes in case something happened. Sure, you may think aliens won't show up in a night club or a bar in the middle of earth but honestly they were everywhere. Most had learned to adapt and fit in with the human race without drawing attention to themselves. Those weren't the ones he had to be ready for. He had to be ready for the ones who made a show out of coming to Earth. They were the ones wanting to destroy or enslave humans.

"Suit yourself. I've got some friends to meet," Jack said sliding his chair back.

"You know someone in here?" Martha asked looking around.

"Not yet," Jack said with a mischievous smirk. "But I will in about two minutes."

Jack left the table and disappeared into the small crowd of dancers. Clifton got up from his seat heading for the dance floor as well, beer in hand.

"I'm gonna make some requests. Time to get these people hoppin'," he said.

"So, Doctor," Shaye said, speaking directly to me for maybe the first time this evening. "We're told you're a space traveler. Care to elaborate?"

**xxxMANDYxxx**

"What were they?" Shaye asked intrigued.

"Carrionites, a race of witch-like beings bound to Earth and desperate to begin their new empire."

"Picture witches with creepy bird faces," Martha added.

The boys had all but deserted us to go hit on the available girls on the dance floor and the only male influence left at the table was the Doctor. He was telling Shaye and I about Martha's first trip through time.

I wasn't sure whether Shaye believed them or thought they were both insane, but she was interested nonetheless. I couldn't help but find myself captivated with their story as well. I may have been born on another planet but all I'd seen and could remember was Earth. The idea of traveling amongst the stars, visiting places hundreds of years before you were even born was just… unbelievable.

_What I wouldn't give to touch those stars myself,_ I thought.

"Weren't you freaked out?" Shaye asked.

"Nahhh, they weren't that bad—"

"Speak for yourself mister," Martha argued. "Considering she voodoo'd one of your hearts!"

I loved the way Martha spoke. The way she pronounced certain words, like 'mister', which always sounded like she was saying 'mistuh'.

"Okay, sure. They were a bit unnerving then, but I'd seen and dealt with worse. Like Donna here. Ever seen her in one of her snits?"

"Oi! Watch it spaceman!" Donna snapped. "Or I'm gonna really show you what I'm like in a snit!"

Donna made me laugh. She was so feisty, strong-willed. She and the Doctor seemed to tease each other relentlessly. It seemed to be a sort of game between the two of them, almost like siblings.

"See what I mean? Not nearly as terrifying," the Doctor grinned.

"So you really met Shakespeare?" I asked.

"Yup," the Doctor said.

"I don't know whether to love you or hate you for that," I said.

"Yeah, I get that a lot."

"I think I'm going to go get another drink and then I'm going out on the dance floor. Coming with?" Shaye asked me.

"Actually," I said glancing at the Doctor and his two companions. "I think I'll stay for a little while."

Shaye shrugged and headed for the bar at the opposite end of the room.

"You can join your friends. You don't have to wait with us," the Doctor told me.

"I know. I'll join them in a bit," I said sipping at my smoothie.

"How are you feeling?" Donna asked leaning across the table to be heard as the music's volume rose.

I shrugged. "Okay."

Jack appeared back at the table and grabbed Donna's hand. "Come on, Red. Dance floor needs breaking in."

Donna shook her head. "Oh, no! I'm not going anywhere."

"Aww come on. Live a little. It's been a rubbish birthday so as far as I'm concerned you guys owe me."

"I'm not going alone," Donna said giving in. "I'm outnumbered with you alone."

Donna grabbed Martha's wrist and pulled her up with them.

"Hey," Jack laughed. "The more the merrier. Let's go my little nightingale."

"Why do I have to goo…" Martha complained while being dragged away.

I got out of my seat to drop into the empty space beside him. It was getting harder to hear as the music got louder and I wasn't quite ready to go dance yet. Everyone had been exchanging stories about each other but I'd not really learned anything about the Doctor.

"Are you sure you don't want anything?" I asked pointing at my glass.

"Maybe later," he said. "So, how long have you known them all?"

I watched Shaye sashay her way across the dance floor. Ke$ha's voice echoed overhead and I smiled at our friends disappearing in and out of the crowd.

"Since High School anyways," I told him. "I've known Shaye longest. She was my first friend; I met her when I started middle school."

"I thought you came to Earth when you were eight?"

The music was reaching an intense pitch and hearing each other had become a challenge. That was fine though. I honestly didn't want to delve too deeply into this conversation. He was heading for treacherous waters and I didn't think he'd be able to handle the ship when the waves struck.

"I wasn't very social when I was little and we moved a lot. So making friends wasn't really possible until High School."

"Why did you move so much?"

"Why do you ask so many questions?"

The Doctor met my gaze. "Sorry, I didn't mean to impose."

I shook my head. "It's fine. Let's just change the subject, yeah?"

"Fine, right, yeah. So…"

"Doctor."

"Yeah?"

"Do you ever just… relax?" I asked. "Do you ever just kick back and have a little fun?"

"Well, yeah. Of course. I mean, not every day ends well but I do, yeah."

"Then do me a favor?"

"Sure, what?"

"Grab a drink and relax."

"I don't drink," he told me.

"Well, then do something new for a change. Get one."

"Why are you so insistent on me drinking?"

"Cause then I won't feel so stupid for going to get another," I grinned holding up my empty smoothie glass.

The Doctor shook his head and laughed. "All right, but if anything bad happens I'm blaming you."

"Deal. Come on then. Let's see who can hold out better on their liquor."

The Doctor's eyebrow rose exponentially. "Are you challenging me to a drinking contest?"

"What? Think you can't handle it?" I teased.

_Ha ha, gotcha!_ I thought as I saw the Doctor's natural personality pull through. Challenges. He liked a good challenge; he wasn't one to walk away from any of them.

"You're on. But be warned, I've had 800 years of drinking."

"Thanks for the warning but I think I can handle it."

"Really? I'd be worried if I were you," he said getting out of his chair. "I've had plenty of time to grow accustomed to parties."

I laughed. "And yet I think you're about to be sadly proven wrong. I bet you aren't as good as you think."

"Are we raising the wagers?"

"Sure, why not. Let's make it interesting," I grinned.

"What do I get if I win?" He asked crossing his arms.

"Winner chooses the prize. Sound fair?" I asked.

"Fair enough," he said. "All right, Miranda Tate. Let the challenge begin."

I watched him wander off towards the bar and chased after him.

"Wait a minute! That's not fair! I've already had one drink, you've had none. We're on unlevel ground," I shouted over the music.

"I'd say there were probably two shots of vodka to that one smoothie, not much at all honestly. So…" he said getting the bartender's attention. "I'll take two shots of vodka and a banana daiquiri." He turned to grin at me. "And you?"

"I'd like an Organarum," I told the bartender.

The Doctor frowned. "I don't think I've ever heard of that."

"Organic bananas with no artificial flavoring and rum. Organarum. Tonight's special," I explained pointing at the marker board with the glow-in-the-dark ink.

We stood there at the bar watching the crowds mingle on the dance floor. I glanced at the clock glowing behind us; 8:59pm. Which meant… The houselights went out all at once and there were some startled cries all over the room. I felt the Doctor's arm clench next to mine and I rested my hand on his forearm to signal for him to relax.

"Are you guys ready to party?" the DJs voice echoed around the room.

"Yeah!" the room shouted.

"Nah, mon! You have to do better den dat. I said are you guys ready to PARTY?"

"YEAH!" the room screamed.

"Cha! Dat's what I'm talkin' about. Den let's get dis party started!"

Suddenly the room exploded in light as hundreds of colored beams sparked to life, bouncing off from finely cut crystals dangling from the ceiling throughout the room. Vivid pinks, blues, and purples danced around the room turning the once ordinary bar into a wild club.

"Here are your drinks," the bartender shouted behind us as 'Get This Party Started' came over the speakers at a decibel that could make your ears bleed.

I laughed as the Doctor lifted his double shot of vodka and downed it like a frat boy at a mixer. He arched an eyebrow at me as he set the glass down.

"Are we even enough?"

"I don't know… you did make a good point earlier… maybe we should add an extra shot for every 100 years of practice." He scowled at me and I burst out laughing. "Joking!"

I watched the stairs as more people descended into the thronging mass of dancers. Mitchell and Zollie appeared out of the nearest group of dancers to the bar, both holding their phones and obviously texting.

"Seriously?" I shouted at them. "You're communicating by text? What happened to the old fashioned screaming over the music?"

Mitchell grinned and showed me his phone as Zollie showed the Doctor his.

_IN TOWN. PRTY SKELETONES. BYF. _

_Send To: 102 CONTACTS SELECTED_

"What's BYF?" The Doctor shouted in my ear.

"Bring your friends."

"You're inviting a hundred people?" The Doctor asked Zollie surprised.

"Hell yeah! And that's only the people who are local. I haven't even got to the surrounding cities yet!"

The Doctor stared at Mitchell and Zollie as if they were mental and I laughed.

"Don't look so surprised," I told him. "This is nothing compared to what they used to do."

"I hate to ask, but what did they use to do?"

"The F.E.T3s; Facebook, Email, Twitter, Tumblr, Text."

"Actually," Mitchell said showing me his phone again. "We did those already; text is the last one to be done."

"Yo Mitch! Maggie and Co. is here," Zollie pointed towards a group of young women.

"Damn, that was fast."

They wandered away from us patting and high-fiving people as they went. The Doctor and I sat there at the bar drinking for a while, shouting over the music and watching the already busy bar turn into a full on club. It wasn't long before we'd both finished off three rounds of drinks and started feeling the first wave of a buzz. I felt the familiar warmth spreading throughout my body as the alcohol hit my system. I smiled invitingly to the Doctor. He smiled back.

"Come dance!" I shouted as he finished off his drink.

"I don't dance," he shouted back shaking his head. "Not like that."

"Come on, everyone else is out there! No one will notice."

"If everyone else jumped off a bridge would you?"

"Without question!" I yelled back.

I watched his lips move as he whinged under his breath. I didn't know what exactly he was saying but I could guess.

"Okay, another round of shots," I said to the bartender as he passed. He filled our shot glasses with high proof vodka and I raised mine in challenge. "Our game hasn't finished yet."

The Doctor laughed. "Are you sure you don't want to give in on this one?"

"Sure you don't dance?"

"Yep."

"Then get drinking, Doctor."

Four straight shots of high proof liquor later and I knew I wasn't going to last the night. The Doctor was right; I did not want to have this competition with him. He seemed to be handling his liquor like he was a frat boy at a mixer. My eyes spun with the lights and my hearts beat in rhythm with the music; loud, pulsating, trancelike beats of electronica.

As my head swirled I realised how drastically the mood of the room had changed. Pulsating blasts of neon-bright beams of light streaked the room, punctuating the near-complete blackness with the urgency of ambulance flashers. The air was dark and smoky, cutting off the much needed oxygen my brain needed to focus.

I surveyed the room. Throngs of people, not much older than myself, were dancing, like one giant centipede. Guys with random piercings, long haired, and spiked heads, girls with neon hair and glow-in-the-dark tattoos. I grabbed the Doctor's sleeve and slid off the bar stool.

"Let's dance with our friends, please?"

The Doctor sighed and rolled his eyes grabbing my hand and leading me towards the dance floor. I couldn't hold back my grin as we passed Jack and Donna dancing like no one else existed. I felt the surprised pause as the Doctor noticed them but gave him a light shove to keep walking. A few feet away we found Shaye and Martha dirty dancing in a group of young attractive guys.

They abandoned ship as soon as they saw us walking their way. Shaye sashayed her way over moving every curve like exotic dancer.

"I thought you guys were going to sit there all night!" She complained. "'Bout time you got your asses out here."

She linked her hands behind her neck and crossed my own behind her waist as we danced.

"Sorry," I apologised. "Took me a while to get someone loose enough to do anything except sit."

Shaye giggled staring at Martha and the Doctor laughing and dancing as they talked. "Well, looks like they are loosening up quite well."

I glanced at them and couldn't help a small burst of jealousy rise in the pit of my stomach. I squeezed my emotions tight and reigned them in before I could even start to analyze why I was jealous in the first place. Sure, you'd have to be blond to not see the Doctor was attractive but beyond that...

"You okay?" Shaye asked.

I looked at her and put on a bright smile "I'm better than okay! I mean, look around us. You're here, all my friends are actually. All in one underground club like old days. It's good to be back."

Shaye shook her head smiling to herself. "You were only gone three days."

I hugged her and kissed her cheek. "It was a long three days."

The song changed and Martha suddenly appeared nearby dragging the Doctor, who was wearing an amused smile on his face, with her to join us.

"Can we dance with you guys?" Martha asked.

"Of course! Four is so much more fun than two!" Shaye teased.

The Doctor scowled at her undertone and I chuckled. Shaye and Martha suddenly starting twirling in circles around the Doctor like they were virgins and he was their maypole. I couldn't stop my laughter as I saw the confusion and horror on his face. Poor Doctor, quite outnumbered I think. I took a step forward and my vision swam and I had to steady myself before going to the rescue. Crap. I was past drunk. I wasn't sure I'd be walking in the next ten minutes. I should've known earlier but somehow my body hadn't given me the warning it usually did. The Doctor had apparently noticed my stumble because I felt his arms wrap around me and he pulled me slowly against him, allowing me to lean in his arms.

"I told you you didn't want to have this contest."

"Oh, shut up I'm doing fine." I muttered against his chest.

He chuckled and stepped away from me and I nearly went tumbling to my knees, thankfully he had known that was exactly what would happen and caught me. Fine. Point made, he wins.

"Not a word," I muttered embarrassedly.

Another chuckle and a few minutes... hour... later I heard Shaye's voice echo over the music, and like a bucket of cold water washing over me I shot straight up, my head clearing.

"What's wrong?" the Doctor asked sensing my nervousness.

"Something... I just..."

Someone came out of a crowd of nearby dancers and a couple of the ceiling lights caught his face and I tensed. Crap. Guess someone invited him too.

"What the hell are you doing?" my ex greeted me.

I sighed as I felt the Doctor tense beside me. "I'm dancing. What are you doing tonight, Brad?"

"Apparently getting led on and lied to! I've called you every day for the past two weeks and you never returned my calls..."

I rolled my eyes tiredly. "Imagine that."

"Shut up! I'm talking! Then I get a call from Mitchell asking if I've seen you, which I hadn't. Turns out you just disappeared off the face of the Earth for 3 days but now have miraculously reappeared armed with a man twice your age and drunk off your ass."

I glared at him silently, patting the Doctor's arm. I sense his discomfort and the desire to smack the twat upside the head.

"It's fine, Doctor. May I introduce my ex-boyfriend, Brad?" I turned to Brad. "Great, introductions made. I'm safe. You're annoying. Now go away."

Brad stared at me bewildered a moment before glaring back. I'd dumped him for many reasons. Reason 1: He cheated on me, a lot. Reason 2: His anger problems. And reason 3...

Brad grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the Doctor. "We're leaving. You and I are going back to your apartment and talking. Now!"

"The hell I am!" I yelled yanking my wrist away and stumbling to the floor.

"Actually you are! Now get up!" He yelled yanking at my hair making me scream.

Reason 3: He was abusive as hell.

Mitchell and Jack appeared behind him in seconds as the Doctor crushed Brad's wrist in a death grip. Before I'd even saw what was happening Brad's hand was out of my hair and his wild eyes met mine and he was suddenly flying backwards, a startled scream wrenching from his throat. Suddenly I felt myself falling into darkness, lost in a memory as it crashed around me.

_A dark, thick shadow fell over a boy and then metamorphosed into my father. He was bigger and wider than I had ever seen him, even when I saw him that time when I was younger. He enveloped the boy as if his body had turned into a great cape and lifted him away from my window. The boy's grip around my waist loosened quickly, so quickly I thought his fingers had turned into water. Then I heard the scream, the piercing sound that vibrated everything around them, made trees tremble, woke sleeping birds, and seemed to shatter the stars…_

"MANDY!" The Doctor roared over me.

I stumbled to consciousness and clawed at his chest in confusion. My friends' faces came slowly cleared at the blurriness faded away. I shivered from a chill breeze and realised I was sitting on cement. I was outside. I looked up at the Doctor slowly.

"I'm sorry, what happened?"

"Jack kicked your ex so hard he went flying across the room and you passed out." the Doctor said holding my face and peering into each of my eyes.

"Sorry, I just..."

"You were screaming your head off," Shaye told me looking worried beyond belief.

"I... must have been dreaming." I muttered.

The Doctor helped me to my feet and after a few minutes of everyone making sure I was okay, and assuring them I was, they started debating whether to walk back to my apartment or take a couple cabs.

"Walk." I told them. I needed to clear my head.

They stared at me then all agreed and we took off. It felt like a long walk but the cool air cleared my head and I started to feel better, albeit more and more tired. But finally we reached my apartment and I fumbled with the key four times before frustratingly kicking the door. I only accomplished making myself feel worse as my toe ached along with my head now.

Beside me, the Doctor pulled his Sonic Screwdriver from his pocket and pointed it at my door handle. The blue light flashed as he flicked it on and I heard the click of the lock falling into place. The Doctor opened the door for me and I entered the hallway. My friends stumbled in behind me as I stepped into the kitchen for a glass of water and they went to find places to crash.

"I'll get the extra blankets and pillows for everyone," Shaye said heading for the upstairs closet.

"I'll help her out," Mitchell said following after her.

"I call the couch," Zollie called from the living room.

I smiled slightly at the familiarity of it all. Shaye going to get blankets, Mitch helping, Zollie calling couch, Clifton would be calling dibs on Shaye any minute now…

"Okay, but I get to sleep on Shaye!"

I burst out laughing even as a tear ran down my face. It had been months since my apartment had been a home. The familiarity of it all made my heart ache. All that was missing was…

"Are you alright?" the Doctor asked, helping himself to a glass of water.

I wiped the tear away casually and gave him a brave smile.

"Yup, all good. I'm used to it," I said with a shrug.

I rinsed my mouth and saw the mixture of blood and water circle down the drain. I must have bitten my tongue. Strange how I hadn't realised it until now. Behind us Martha entered the kitchen tiredly.

"That guy had no right attacking you like that," she said angrily. "Who was he anyways?"

I shrugged. He'd done it many times before. I supposed it was my fault in a way because I'd always let him get away with it before now.

"He's my ex. I was kind of the trophy girl to parade around to show he was cool. At least until I began gaining weight out of depression when he cheated on me. I broke up with him a couple months ago."

"Well, if he shows up I'll take care of it," Martha said angrily.

"He won't. He's an ass, not stupid." I said yawning. "Too many guys on my side."

"Didn't stop him at the pub," Martha pointed out.

I heard Mitchell splitting up sleeping arrangements and I went to head for the living room and lost my balance as the room spun. Oh, sure, _now_ the alcohol completely takes over. I felt the Doctor's hand find my elbow as he steadied me on my feet.

"I think I win," he said, trying to lighten the mood. "Though I give you points for holding out as long as you did."

I laughed. "Guess you get to choose the prize. So? What'll it be?"

The Doctor smiled softly at me. "I'll let you know when I come up with something."

We entered the living room to find Zollie already curled up asleep on the couch, snoring loud enough to wake the neighbors. Clifton was lying on the living room floor beside him, sprawled out face down as if he'd just dropped where he was standing.

"He alright?" I asked.

"Yup, just really drunk," Mitchell said throwing a blanket over him.

I looked around. _Wait a minute_… "Where's Shaye? And Donna and Jack?"

Mitchell glanced at me as he sat down in my recliner and put the foot rest up. He'd already changed into one of the many sets of pajama pants he always left here in case he needed to stay a night or two. His shirt was draped over the back of the chair.

"Upstairs in the spare bedroom…"

Martha and the Doctor groaned. I didn't understand their grievance. My spare bedroom was huge. It had a deluxe king size bed and a sofa, surely it wasn't that big of a deal. Then it hit me at the same time as I heard someone hit the floor followed by giggling. I groaned.

"Okay well… night, Mitch." I said to him heading for the stairs. In the hall I offered to let Martha and the Doctor sleep in my room.

"No, that's alright. I can return to the TARDIS…"

"Don't be ridiculous. It's all the way down the street and you're just as intoxicated as we are. You said you've slept with Martha plenty of times so once more is no big deal. Besides, my bed is huge, there's room for six," I argued.

The Doctor looked about to argue more and Martha pushed him towards the stairs and past me.

"Just shut-up and go for once. I'm tired and far too drunk to stay on my feet," Martha ordered.

We headed up to my room listening to the Doctor complain the whole way and I stopped by one of the closets in the hall. I pulled out one of Mitchell's old pairs of pajamas and I tossed them to him, pointing towards the bathroom.

"You can change in there and then come to bed," I told him leading Martha into my bedroom without waiting for an answer. "If you don't show up we'll come after you just to prove a point."

I crossed to my cream dresser and opened the bottom drawer pulling out two matching sets of tanks and pajama pants. I tossed the pink and orange set to Martha who had already begun undressing and I kept the aqua and lime set for myself. We both stumbled into our pajamas and I managed to pull my tank top into place just as the Doctor entered the room.

Martha was already curled up on the far left side of the bed when I turned around. The Doctor and I stared at her as she slept soundly and there was an awkward moment of pause before I crossed the room and stood next to the Doctor.

"You can sleep next to her, you've done it before."

I flipped the bedroom light off and stood there in pitch darkness. I didn't hear the Doctor moving so I reached a tentative hand out in front of me. I felt air and tried to walk forwards only to bump into him.

"Whoa, there," he whispered, keeping me from falling backwards.

"Um, you're supposed to get in so I can lie down."

He held my elbow as we walked towards the bed and I heard him crawl under the covers next to Martha. I felt my hearts race and took a deep steady breathe. I crawled in next to him and faced the opposite direction.

"Good night," I whispered sleepily.

"Good night," he answered.

But despite my exhaustion I was unable to shut off my mind. Memories long forgotten kept invading my mind and I was still upset about Kyle. I don't know how long I lay there just listening to Martha's and the Doctor's breathing but I eventually fell asleep in a foul mood. I woke up sometime later when the Doctor's arm curled around me and I drifted back to sleep with a lighter heart and didn't wake up until morning.

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	8. An Uneventful Day

**Author's Note: THIS CHAPTER WILL BE UPDATED SOON… you can of course continue reading if you wish, but eventually you'll want to come back and REREAD it because there may be some drastic changes in the chapter. Fair warning. As much as it may suck you may want to hold off and read more later. Don't worry, the update is scheduled for release by 4/27/13.**

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**XXXMANDYXXX**

The next morning I felt the bed dip and I forced my eyes open to look around me. I attempted to turn over but something was wrapped tightly around my waist keeping me still, looking down I was surprised to find it was an arm clinging tightly around me. I looked up and found the Doctor's sleeping face. I hadn't realised during the night Martha and I had curled around him like a big pillow. I couldn't help but smile.

"Hey you, good morning," a voice whispered from behind me.

I turned my head and found Shaye sitting on the edge of the bed staring down at me. "Good morning," I mumbled sleepily.

"I take it you slept well?" Shaye asked.

"Mm-hmm. You?"

There was something hidden beneath her smile that made my eyebrows rise higher than ever. I'd forgotten she'd gone to bed with Donna and Jack. I doubted seriously there was much sleep involved, if any.

"Soo, you three look comfy," Shaye teased me.

"_Shaye_," I heard the Doctor warn sleepily, the same way he did Jack.

I giggled; there was something comforting about the fact that he treated her as he would a friend. He rearranged himself as he ran a hand up my side absently. Martha groaned as he jostled her in her sleep and she blinked awake drowsily lifting her head to look around. She smiled at me and dropped her back to the Doctor's chest with a yawn.

"Mornin'," she mumbled.

I smiled at her, understanding exactly how she felt right now.

"Breakfast in ten. If you don't come down I'll come back up. That's a warning," Shaye said leaving the bed. "Oh, and don't feel the need to get dressed, no one else has."

"Don't worry," I called as she left my room. "We won't!"

The Doctor pulled his arms out from under us and stretched. Martha grumbled as he jostled us again and I giggled at the sudden dumbstruck look that appeared on his face. He must have only realised how entangled with us in bed he actually was. He quickly ran a hand through his already disheveled hair and made it stick straight up. I laughed at him and reached up with my free hand to run it through his hair, taming it into place without so much as a second thought.

"There, that's better," I said letting my hand fall back to his chest.

He stared at me a moment and then cleared his throat. "Right, well. I think I'll go help with breakfast…" He detangled his legs from ours and scooted up out of the blankets. The chill air hit Martha and I at the same time and we shivered, scooting closer to each other as he got out of the bed.

"M'kay," I mumbled drifting off in the warm blankets.

I smiled appreciatively as Martha curled up around me, draping an arm around my stomach. It was too cold not to have a snuggle buddy. The Doctor stood there looking at us as if he wanted to say something.

"What's the matter?" I asked frowning.

"Nothing," he said a little too quickly. "….Good morning."

I smiled sweetly at him and burrowed deeper into the blankets, resting my forehead against Martha's with a sigh and closing my eyes to go back to sleep.

"Good morning, Doctor," I sighed, drifting off instantly.

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**XXXTHEDOCTORXXX**

The Doctor stepped out of the bedroom quietly so as not to disturb the two women still curled up in bed. He hadn't intended to get quite so cosy with them through the night. He supposed it was bound to happen being sandwiched between the two of them. He was more concerned with the fact he didn't mind being so close.

Sure, he'd slept with Martha plenty of times and never worried. But that was until yesterday when a certain someone verbally pointed out that sleeping in bed with a woman you didn't love wasn't a good idea. Now he'd slept with two!

He rubbed his face as he entered the bathroom to relieve himself. As he washed his hands he wetted his hair and tousled it into place, the look on Mandy's face as she'd finger combed it herself crossed his mind. He shook his head roughly to clear whatever thoughts dared to pop up. This was NOT the time.

He glanced down at himself to find he had no shirt on. Had he had one when he went to bed? Curious, he couldn't actually remember. Well, that was another new development. He couldn't remember having ever gone without a shirt except in the comfort of his own room on the TARDIS.

He left the bathroom and as he passed Mandy's bedroom he looked in. She was still curled up snug with Martha and they were sleeping comfortably. He shook his head. Martha was behaving quite out of character. First she got drunk last night; he couldn't remember her ever doing that. Then she pushed him to bed without so much as a worry about sleeping in bed with him or the other girl. She was usually awkward about sleeping arrangements. Now she was curled up around the smaller girl using her as a body pillow.

The Doctor shook his head deciding that human women would always remain a mystery to him. No matter how many and how long he travelled with them. He glanced at Martha one last time before heading for the stairs. Perhaps it was the company. Martha was usually surrounded by military types as of late. Even when she'd travelled with him before there weren't a lot of opportunities to just relax because trouble was just around the corner.

This also surprised him a bit. He'd now spent, he mentally checked the clock in his mind, seventeen hours on Earth and the only thing that'd gone wrong was Mandy's ex-boyfriend showing up at the bar. He was pretty sure this was the quietest stop on Earth he'd ever had. Oddly enough he was kind of glad that there were no disasters to prevent.

The smell of bacon and eggs drew him to the kitchen where he found Mitchell and Shaye portioning out food onto empty plates. His stomach rumbled with pleasure as he realised how hungry he was. He noted that none of the young men in the room had bothered to put on shirts and felt a little less weird about not putting on his own. Zollie and Clifton were both slumped in their chairs taking a long drag on their cigarettes.

"Good, you're up! Where's Mandy?" Shaye asked.

The Doctor pointed towards the ceiling. "Curled up with Martha."

Shaye sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Don't you know any better? Mandy will never crawl out of a warm bed if there's someone in it to snuggle with. No matter whom it is. You either have to steal the blankets or steal the snuggle buddy."

"Forgive me," he said sarcastically. "I hadn't realised it was my duty to drag a grown woman out of her own bed."

Shaye gave him a sardonic look and shook a large spoon at him. "Cheeky little bastard. Alright, _I'll_ go get them. Watch and learn boys."

Shaye sauntered towards the kitchen entrance and ran into Jack on the way out. He caught her about the waist and kissed her on the mouth wholeheartedly as she squealed in delight.

"Ahh, that's better," Jack said, happily letting her go.

Shaye and Donna laughed as the Doctor watched the two women wink at each other before heading opposite directions; Donna to enter the kitchen, Shaye to leave it. Jack slapped him on the back as he headed for the jug of orange juice and an empty glass. Donna followed silently behind him dressed in an oversized t-shirt that fell to her knees. The Doctor hadn't noticed how much weight the woman had lost until now for some reason. He supposed it was all the running his companions did when they were with him.

The Doctor stared at Donna and he swore he saw her blush as she swept past him with a simple, "Morning, Doctor'. _Oh, well this is just wonderful_. _How thick can I be? They went to bed together, I should have known, _the Doctor thought. He was never drinking again. What had possessed him to do so in the first place? He pictured Mandy shooting a shot of tequila and sucking on a lime as she gave him a flirty I-dare-you look. Of course, he never backed down from a challenge.

"SHAYE!" He heard Martha and Mandy scream upstairs.

They all looked upwards in surprise. Nobody said anything as Shaye entered the kitchen again moments later and no one had the courage to ask exactly what she'd done.

"That, my dear Doctor, is how you get two women out of bed." She said heading for a plate of food as the others resumed eating. Martha and Mandy stormed into the kitchen soaking wet, their night clothes clinging to their luscious curves. They both pinned Shaye with a glare as she bit into a piece of bacon.

"Morning girls," Shaye greeted them.

"You," Mandy growled.

"Are," Martha continued.

"A."

"Total."

"Bitch!" Mandy finished.

The men all turned to stare at Shaye as she just laughed. She crossed the room and held a piece of bacon out to each of them and winked. They took the pieces of bacon from her and bit into them agitatedly.

"You are so not out of the clear yet!" Mandy said walking to the table and plopping down next to the Doctor.

"I could torture you y'know," Martha told the girl. "I'm fully trained in how to save people but that knowledge also helps to teach you how to kill people slowly!"

"Duly noted," Shaye said handing her a plate of breakfast.

Martha grumbled something and sat down at the large kitchen table. It wasn't long before they'd polished off their food and left to change into new clothes. The Doctor walked back to the TARDIS with Jack to grab something clean from the wardrobe. The girls had decided they'd borrow something off from Mandy whose closet was limitless.

By the time the Doctor and Jack had walked back to her apartment the girls had broken off from the boys and disappeared upstairs to rummage through closets. Mitchell and Clifton were engaged in a game of mancala while Zollie strummed at a guitar, stopping now and then to write something down in a notebook beside him.

"I've got to call Torchwood," Jack whispered in the Doctor's ear. "Are you going to explain to Mandy that her friends won't remember anything we told them or do you want me to?"

The Doctor thought about it, "I will. What about Martha and Donna?"

"Martha already knows my system. But I told Donna last night. So you better talk to Mandy. You don't want her to slip up and say anything that'll spark their memory."

"How about you, Doctor?" Mitchell called to him. "Up for a round? Can't be any worse than Cliff."

"Hey!" Clifton protested. "I'm just a newb!"

"Pretty sure the 'newb' status wears off after a month dude," Zollie pointed out. "Now it's called you suck."

"Yeah, like you play any better!"

"I do actually. Beat Mitch three times outta five last week."

"True story," Mitch said, setting up the mancala game. "So whattaya say, Doc? You up for a game?"

"Sure. Love a game, me," the Doctor said sitting down to play.

"So, tell me about Mandy," the Doctor said casually.

All at once the three guys stopped to stare at him. They glanced at each other before going back to what they were doing.

"What do you want to know?" Mitchell asked slowly.

"Anything really. Haven't had much time to really learn anything about her."

"How long _have_ you known her?"

"About five days. But things have been kind of… chaotic."

"Her name's Miranda Evalle Tate. She likes candlelit dinners and long walks on the beach. Oh, and she doesn't put out for free," Zollie offered. "Anything else?"

"Prick!" Clifton laughed, shooting a pillow across the room.

"Sorry," the Doctor said, feeling the tension in the room. "I didn't mean to pry. It's just you shared a lot of stories but they didn't really give anything away about her personality."

"Nah," Mitchell said dismissively. "It's cool. I'm just not sure what you're looking for."

The Doctor thought about it. "Hobbies. Does she have any? All around this house there's nothing to show if she has one."

"She sings," Zollie said. "Brilliantly. Although the odds of you getting her to sing for you are slim to none."

"Why?" The Doctor asked, feeling he was getting somewhere.

"Stage fright. Can barely sing a word with strangers in the room."

"Which sucks," Clifton added. "Cause she's got a voice straight from Heaven."

"What else then? She must do something to pass the time."

"She writes music. But other than that she usually just works," Mitchell told him. "She likes to keep busy. Doesn't do well alone."

The Doctor couldn't imagine any young American woman _just_ working. It was all parties and music and going shopping with girlfriends. They _all_ had to do _something_ to relax… "Why's that?"

"Not sure," Mitchell admitted. "Something to do with whatever happened in her past."

"She's only twenty-one, how much of a past can she have? That's my game."

"I don't know, but whatever it was it was bad." Mitchell said, shaking his head and resetting the pieces.

"She'll go into these moods and you can see it," Zollie offered. "Something'll set her off and you can see her remembering."

"Remembering what?" Jack asked, entering the room and plopping down in an empty chair.

"Like he said, we don't know. Figure the only one around here that does is Shaye. But you won't get a peep out of her either. She's like a guard dog with Mandy. If you get too close or she thinks you're a threat to Mandy she'll sink her teeth into you and not let go. It's a death sentence to get between those two."

"So she and Mandy are close? That's my game again," the Doctor pointed at the game board.

It would explain why she'd been the first person she'd tried to call on the TARDIS. And the first person she _did_ call when he'd given her phone a bit of a boost. It seemed the more answers he received the more confused he became. There were more questions now than when he'd started.

Mitchell frowned as he reset the pieces yet again. "She was Mandy's first friend I think. Mandy lived with the Rosser's until she graduated high school and got a job to move out."

"Who're the Rossers?"

"Shaye's last name is Rosser. Her parents apparently agreed to take Mandy in but they started going through a divorce later that year. Mandy was already going through some tragedy and when Shaye started going through hers they clung to each other."

"Why did Mandy have to move in with the Rosser's to begin with? Where was her family?"

"No one knows. They just disappeared," Zollie said setting his guitar down beside him. "One day her sisters just didn't come to school and her dad just disappeared. Wouldn't tell anyone _where_ they went."

"There were lots of rumours," Clifton reminded them. "It all started after that guy went missing."

"What guy?" Jack asked.

"Mark. Real popular guy in school. Fit in everywhere. Was only in school two weeks before he got his first look at Mandy," Zollie told him.

The Doctor recalled hearing that name in one of the previous night's conversations.

"…_it was the weirdest day ever!" Zollie had been telling Jack._

"_What day was weird?" Mandy had asked picking up on the discussion._

"_The day that kid in our history class never came back. Remember him?"_

_Mandy's aura had gone from light and carefree to dark and cautious in a matter of seconds. He'd watched her shoulders tense up as she avoided eye contact._

"_No. Don't think so."_

"_Sure you do," Zollie had said. "Everybody loved that guy. He went from one clique to the next, fit in everywhere. He asked you out a week before he disappeared."_

"_I don't remember—"_

"_I think his name was Mark—"_

"Poor sap," Mitchell added with a laugh. "Never had a chance. But that didn't stop him from trying."

"He spent two weeks asking her out and trying to get her attention. It seemed to be working too, until he went missing," Clifton told them.

"When was that?" The Doctor asked.

"About four days before Mandy's family went missing too. That was the main reason for the rumours," Zollie said quietly. "They thought it was Mandy. She was gorgeous, is gorgeous and everyone wanted her but she'd have nothing to do with friendships or relationships."

"Aside from Shaye," Jack offered.

"Yeah, and then she suddenly started talking to us too, showing real interest. And when Mark went missing students thought she'd done something to him," Clifton added.

_Why would students assume that Mandy would be able to do anything to someone?_ He wondered.

"It was worse because her family disappeared only a few days later. There was an investigation we'd heard but that's just it, it was all hearsay. But people bullied her, threatened her and she wouldn't even defend herself," Mitchell told them.

"She wouldn't tell anyone anything. Didn't speak a word to anyone for months! Remember? The only thing she'd do is sing in the choir. Except with us. We knew Shaye a while too and when they started going after her too we stepped in," Clifton said.

"That was when we started becoming friends," Mitchell said. "But it took us forever to get her to talk again."

Jack and the Doctor exchanged meaningful looks. This gave both of them a lot to think about. It seemed Mandy was a mystery shrouded in more mysteries. For the Doctor that wasn't a problem, he loved a mystery. For Jack it caused suspicion, she seemed sweet enough but he didn't like the sound of people just disappearing around her.

"What do you think, Doctor?" Mitchell asked. "Why would she just clam up like that?"

"Sounds like selective mutism," the Doctor said thoughtfully. "Something must have happened. And whatever it was it scarred her terribly…"

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**XXXMANDYXXX**

"We should go shopping," Martha said an hour later. "You've lost so much weight most of these don't fit anyways."

They'd torn my entire closet apart going through clothes and trying various things on. I didn't mind, it was fun watching Martha and Donna and Shaye model different outfits. But I couldn't help dosing off because for some reason I was incredibly tired. It was like my brain was overworked and trying to shut down.

"I don't know," I said tiredly. "I've lost my job. I really can't afford to go buy anything."

"What about Plato's Closet?" Shaye suggested. "Everything in here is designer; if you sell them your old clothes you can use that money to buy new clothes. And I hear the mall is having huge sales right now."

"I don't know…"

"Oh, come on. If you want I'll loan you a couple quid," Donna told me.

"What good is a squid gonna do?" Shaye asked confused.

We laughed as she looked from one of us to the other. "What, what'd I say?"

"A quid is a pound sterling. British money," I explained to her.

"Oh, well I liked the squid better," she laughed.

"So are we gonna do it then?" Martha asked. "Are we going on a shopping spree? I could use a new pair of trousers."

They stared at me a minute and I laughed, giving in. "Alright! But I can't spend much, I really do need to save as much as possible."

"Perfect! Now… who's going to break it to the boys that they're our escorts?" Shaye asked. "'Cause I'm not gonna!"

"I will," Donna said. "But let's not give them time to change their minds. We'll pack up everything you want to sell and take it down with us."

"Ohh, good idea," Shaye said impressed. "I like her. Can we keep her?"

We laughed as we packed up my clothes into bags and pretty soon we were heading down the stairs our arms loaded with weight. I felt my head reel and tried to sit down casually beside Zollie.

"What's all that?" Jack asked surprised.

"Clothes," Martha offered.

"Okay… would you care to elaborate?"

"Love too. These are Mandy's old clothes. They no longer fit and she needs new ones…" Donna started.

"Oh, no!" the Doctor interrupted knowing exactly where that statement was leading. "I'm not doing it!"

"Oh, yes you are spaceman! We're going shopping and you gentlemen will be escorting us."

"No, absolutely not! You take forever; I've _been_ shopping with you! Even I don't have pockets big enough for what you end up with."

"Stuff it spaceman. You're coming with us whether you like it or not."

"Oh, am I? I think you forget who the driver is," he said.

"Oh, did I tell you about the time the Doctor took us to Marson Jan? Big red planet, thousands of years in the future and we land inside a gay bar…" Donna said to me so that only the Doctor could hear.

"Alright! Alright! You win!" the Doctor shouted raising his hands in surrender.

"Thought you'd see it my way," Donna grinned.

"Do you mind if we rest a bit first," I asked hopefully. Martha and the Doctor looked at me with instant concern. "I'm fine," I told them. "I think I just need a nap, long couple days y'know?"

"Yeah," Martha said with a nod. "That's a good idea. You go up and have a kip and we'll occupy ourselves 'til you've rested."

I smiled appreciatively. "Thanks, I'll only be a while."

I headed back up the stairs forcing my shoulders straight and my head high. Once I'd reach the top of the stairs and knew I was out of sight I let both sag. As I was headed for my room I knew something was wrong, I could feel it. My head ached, my bones groaned, and my stomach was turning. I found my way to the littlest room upstairs feeling a strange pull to it.

Inside the room I crossed to the couch and sat down. Why didn't I just go to bed? Why did I feel like there was something in here I needed, something that would make me feel…better. I looked around. Cat supplies were about all I kept in here, aside from the bookcase and sofa. There was a closet but it was filled with winter supplies. Coats, gloves, boots…

I looked around the room and shook my head, which was a bad idea because instantaneously a sharp throbbing sensation spread through it. I groaned letting my head fall into my hands. Maybe it was just a headache, a really bad headache. But something kept nagging at me, like a sixth sense telling me there was something more to it.

I got up to look at the shelves. I read the book titles one by one, thinking there had to be something in here that I wanted. Suddenly a book stood out to me. I drew it from the shelf staring at it. _Broken Wings_. This wasn't my book. It had never been my book, and how it had gotten here I wasn't quite sure. But I knew it, had read it, had…

I opened the book and a picture fell out. I leant down to pick it up and flip it over. As I looked at the faces within the picture I felt my first tears fall. My father. My father and three sisters. The family I'd finally found after two difficult years in an orphanage and foster homes and a year on the streets. This book had once belonged to one of my sisters. How it had gotten here I didn't know. I felt the pain in my head ease as I stared at the picture but then the exhaustion kicked in.

I crossed to the sofa and laid down, tucking the picture back into the book and clutching it to my chest. I'd loved them so much. They'd saved me when no one else would. But they were gone now. I couldn't help but remember them now. It was as if seeing the picture had opened up a flood gate and my memories came rushing in.

I swallowed the sob rising in my throat, squeezing my eyes shut in hopes of keeping back the tears. It did me no good. Nothing could keep back the tears I'd refused to shed for so many years as I curled up, determined to get some sleep.

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**XXXMARTHAXXX**

"So you're telling us," Martha said, trying to concentrate on the facts, "that Mandy started school with you when you were 14?"

"Yup. One day she just appeared in class next to me. I remember because she looked like she was twelve. The boys didn't so much as give her a glance because of it."

"That and the boring grandma clothes that she was made to wear. Loose-fitting, drab colors, and the ugliest fucking shoes!" Zollie recalled.

_So she would have been sixteen when she started school here_, she thought. The Doctor had told her that while she and Donna had been upstairs he'd been trying to learn about Mandy from her friends but he'd gotten practically useless information from the boys. Lucky for him, she and Donna were much better at coercing information out of them than he was.

"She didn't really fill out until two months into the year," Shaye told her. "We just assumed she came from a fanatically religious family. Puritans or something."

"I mean, sounds stupid _now_ I guess, but it made sense then. We figured that was why she wore such old clothes and no makeup and no earrings or bracelets."

"That and she didn't participate in any clubs or games or go to dances. Most of the students thought trying to be friends with her was a total waste of time. Even I was guilty of thinking her life was a waste of time," Mitchell admitted guiltily.

"Sounds like she didn't have a lot of money growing up then," Donna said.

"No, she came from the richest family in town," Shaye said startled. "That's why we thought it had to be a religious thing. Cause nobody with that much money would dress their children like a bag lady."

"So why did she have to dress like that then?" Donna wondered.

"Well, from what she told me when we became friends her family always kept everything. I guess the clothes were passed on from one sister to the next and unless something had really worn out new clothes weren't purchased."

"That makes no sense," Martha said. "I mean, I understand the sister sharing thing, I did it with my sister, but if they were rich buying new clothes shouldn't have been a big deal."

"You'd have thought that wouldn't you?" Shaye asked. "Well, just as Mandy had been told to give some of her old clothes to her little sister, Mandy's older sister was told to give some of her newer outfits to her."

"Man was that an eye-opener. Problem was everyone noticed the change at once," Clifton told them. "And it wasn't good attention she was getting. She was already unpopular and her suddenly showing up one day in revealing clothes and styles made the girls hate her more."

"Some of the guys were mean to her too," Shaye pointed out. "Remember Tommy Holmes? He kept asking her if she had started drinking their gardener's Miracle-Gro."

"Yeah, but Rose Lee was worse," Zollie said. "She started spreading rumours everywhere that Mandy had gotten plastic surgery.

"Only 'cause she was jealous. If anyone needed plastic surgery it was her, with her long, pointed nose and doggy ears. You could see the story smeared all over people's faces. It was awful," Shaye said sadly. "Almost overnight, Mandy's baby face had morphed into a stunning cover girl's face, including a magazine model's complexion. Rose eventually began to regret her mocking though."

Martha couldn't imagine Mandy being anything but beautiful. She seemed like such a kind girl, why would anyone want to smear her reputation with such hateful rumours? Martha supposed that was just how it was. It had been that way as she grew up as well.

"How is it," the Doctor mumbled under his breath to her. "That you are able to get all this out of them and they look at me like I'm some con-artist fishing for credit numbers?"

Martha grinned. "I'm a curious young woman wondering about this _amazing_ girl I've just become friends with. Girls are gossips, they expect _me_ to wonder. You're just some bloke that could be trying to take advantage of her."

"I am _not _just a bloke," he said, appalled.

"If you want to keep them on topic I suggest you shut up and just listen," Martha whispered, smiling at Shaye. "So you mentioned she had sisters," Martha said to her curiously. "What did they look like?"

"She had an older sister in my class," Clifton offered. "Gorgeous! I mean, really. Gorgeous hair, gorgeous face, gorgeous body. And she had this way of walking with such confidence, like she knew she was hot and didn't care. And that ass, I'm telling you…"

"I think we've heard enough from you thanks!" Shaye said kicking him in the knee. "Mandy had three sisters that I knew of. Two older and one younger. The oldest girl I don't remember well. She was already a graduating senior in High School when I met Mandy. I remember she was the smartest girl in the school and she was awesome at sports. She had really long dark hair too, all of them did."

"They _all_ had long dark hair?" Donna asked.

"Yeah, and they all had perfect complexions and dark eyes. I can't remember ever seeing them with as much as a blemish. It's strange when I think about it; all four of them were so… perfect. In every way too. They were all pretty, and smart, and they all had a special talent. But they never drew attention to themselves. It was almost like they didn't want to be noticed or remembered."

That got all of their attentions. Why would really beautiful girls from a rich family not want to be remembered? Any normal girl would be starved for attention and flaunt their looks and talents. The whole situation with Mandy made no sense.

"What sort of talents?" the Doctor dared to speak up.

"Umm, the oldest was great at sports," Shaye tried to remember. "All of them. Track, basketball, tennis…"

"And the one in my class was great at drawing," Clifton interrupted, helping her out. "She could work with any media and make her art look like it could walk off the page, it was so realistic."

"Then there was the youngest one, about thirteen. _She_ was in the dance class with my friend Ally. She was adorable remember? There wasn't a single type of dance she didn't know or couldn't learn," Mitchell added.

"That's right!" Shaye said excited. "She looked like a teeny little fairy child, I remember!"

"Yeah, but it turned out Mandy was the _really_ magnificent one," Zollie said. "I remember when she started in choir. The teacher made her stand up and sing in front of everyone to see how she reacted under pressure in front of peers and she just _sang_. You could see how nervous she was of course, but it was like once she'd started she just became the music. Nothing else existed."

"So I hate to break up this lovely little gossip group but is anyone else concerned by the fact she's been _napping_ two hours?" Jack interrupted.

Martha and the Doctor exchanged looks.

"I can go check on her," Shaye said, standing up.

"Actually," Martha said quickly. "I'd like to hear more about her singing and school. It's so different from how it was where I went to school. Let the Doctor go."

Shaye looked at him and shrugged. "Sure."

"I'll be right back, I guess." He said excusing himself and heading for the stairs.

When he reached the top of the stairwell a noise reached his ears and he recognised it immediately. Choking.

"Miranda," he whispered and ran towards the sound.

**DW TTWT DW TTWT DW TTWT DW TTWT DW TTWT DW TTWT DW TTWT DW**

**XXXMANDYXXX  
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"_We gotta move," momma said._

_I had just closed my eyes and curled up as tightly as a caterpillar in the heavy woolen blanket. Over the past few months, I had grown immune to the variety of unpleasant odors woven into it. Most nights, I think I held my breath as much as I breathed anyway. I was always anticipating something terrible would wake me, so I never slept much deeper than the very edge of unconsciousness. My ears were still open, my eyelids fluttering, and the dreams that came tiptoed in on cat's paws._

_It had begun to rain harder, and the wind blowing in from the ocean made it impossible to stay dry under the cardboard roof that momma had constructed from some choice cartons she had plucked out of a dumpster behind the supermarket. In the beginning, I would tremble with embarrassment while she sorted through the garbage. Now, I stood by quietly watching and waiting, as uninterested as someone who had lost all memory. _

_I had learned how to shut out the world and not hear other people talking or see them gaping at us as they walked by. It was almost as if it were all happening to someone else anyway, someone who had borrowed my nearly ten-year-old body to suffer in and endure._

"_Where will we go, momma?" I asked._

"_Home," she muttered._

"_Home? Where's home?"_

_She didn't answer. Sometimes I thought she hoarded her words the way a squirrel hoarded acorns because she was afraid the day would soon come when she would have nothing left to say. Lately, she was saying less and less even to me._

_I blocked my face from the drizzle and sat up. Momma was already stuffing her bedding into her suitcase, forcing it in as if it were screaming and fighting not to be locked away. She closed it and paused. She was so thin now that it always surprised me she was able to carry the suitcase with her bedding and calligraphy supplies. _

_Every day we set up a small area on the beach where momma attempted to make money by selling calligraphy paintings. Most people who bought any wanted their name in Chinese calligraphy and took momma's word for it that she was doing just that. She could have been spelling out __**toilet**__ for all they knew._

_While she painted with expert strokes, I sat at her side and wove multicolored lanyard key chains that I sold for two dollars each. I usually began the day with a few dozen I had managed to do during the night. Between the two of us, we made enough to eat two, sometimes three, meals and occasionally have enough to buy some new article clothing or old shoes from the thrift store. We had been doing this for months now, ever since we were evicted from 'aunt' Elise's home and then from the hotel._

_I'll never forget the day we were evicted from our home with momma's friend Elise and her husband, or 'aunt' Elise and 'papa' as they'd told me to call them. I was only just nine and home from school because I had a bad cough and my mother had brought me to a drug store to get some medication. Who'd have known when we returned we'd find ourselves homeless and alone._

_A month before my ninth birthday something in my mother's mind had snapped. She began murmuring about imaginary planets and imaginary races of humans who never died, but rather were reborn as new people over and over again. _

_Aunt Elise didn't take well to the crazy mutterings and papa started coming home less and less. Aunt Elise often fought with mamma and it wasn't hard to see that it was mamma causing the problem. That worried me because I couldn't remember her ever being so irrational. It seemed momma's temper got worse and worse along with her ramblings until Aunt Elise avoided her at all costs._

_It wasn't long __**after**__ my ninth birthday that aunt Elise had had enough of her. One day, when mamma and I got home from the store, there were police waiting for us when we arrived. While I waited outside momma argued with aunt Elise in the house. It wasn't long before she joined me back on the porch, two policemen flanking her._

"_You can thank that __**human**__ someday for this," she said. "Pack only what you really need. We can't carry too much. I'm not spending money on a taxi."_

"_Why are we leaving?"_

"_We can't live here anymore. She's got the police on us to kick us out."_

"_Where are we going?"_

"_To a hotel nearby," she said._

_It sounded good, but when we arrived, I saw how small it was. The lobby was barely bigger than our living room had been, and we had one room with two double beds and a bathroom._

"_What about a kitchen?" I asked._

"_We'll eat out when we want hot food. This will have to do for now," she told me._

_Her best hope was that 'for now' was forever, only I didn't know that. I didn't know how serious the dying going on in her head was. Because we slept in the same room, I woke up often to hear her nighttime chats with her invisible second self. Most of the time, it was done in whispers, but I often caught a word or two. None of it ever made much sense to me. __**Maybe she's just dreaming aloud**__, I thought, and went back to sleep._

_She was doing it now as we trekked up the beach. The raindrops had become more like pellets. I kept my head down and lifted my eyes just enough to see her soaked old sneakers pasted with sand and mud plodding forward awkwardly._

"_Where are we going?" I cried. I was tired and would have gladly just slept in the rain._

_She didn't answer, but from the way she was moving her arms and hands, I knew she was talking to her imaginary self. I could see the top of a bottle of gin in her shabby coat pocket. There was no one else on the beach but us, so there was no one to appeal to for any help. I was feeling worse than ever. The only way I realised I was crying was by the shudder in my shoulders. My tears were mixed in with the rain._

_Momma suddenly turned and started toward the side-walk. I hurried to catch up. She carried her suitcase limply. It looked as if it was dragging. Even though I was exhausted myself, I wanted to help her, to take it from her, but she wouldn't let go of the handle._

"_I'll carry it!" I cried._

"_No, no. This is all I have. Let go," she said._

_The way she looked at me sent a sharp pain through my heart. __**She doesn't recognise me, **__I thought. __**My own mother doesn't know who I am. She thinks I'm some stranger trying to steal her things.**_

"_Momma, it's me, Miranda. Let go, and I'll help you."_

"_No!" she screamed, and tore it out of my grip._

_We stared at each other for a moment in the rain. Maybe she realised her momentary amnesia and it frightened her as much as it had frightened me. Whatever, she turned and surged forward._

_I sped to keep up with her. We were at a traffic light on West Boulevard Highway, and it turned green for us. She stepped into the road, and I caught up with her to walk side-by-side. We were nearly to the other side when I heard car tires squealing and looked to my right._

_The vehicle struck momma first and literally lifted her over my head before it struck me hard in the right thigh. I saw momma slap down on the pavement just before I fell and slid in her direction._

_That was how my life began._

"Miranda!" Someone called above my head. "Miranda, wake up!"

Someone was shaking me, or was that my body in shock? I felt like I was out of air, as if someone, or some_thing_, had knocked the wind from me. I forced my eyes open gasping for breath, expecting to find myself in the middle of the street, rain pouring down. Instead I found the Doctor's panicked face hovering just above mine and I realised what I thought was rain was actually my own sweat and tears soaking my face.

"I'm okay," I choked, forcing myself into a sitting position. "I'm alright, let go."

The Doctor frowned at me, evidently concerned. "You were having a panic attack in your sleep!"

"Yes, well. Bad dreams can do that," I said dismissively. I looked around me while trying to calm my nerves. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Two hours," he said crossly, feeling my forehead and cheeks. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yes, it was just a nightmare," I lied to him.

The truth was it was no nightmare. They were memories. Memories that I had buried a long time ago. Memories that would always haunt me and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't forget. I could see it in his face that he knew I was lying to him. I was thankful that he didn't press any further.

"Well, the others are downstairs getting a bit impatient I'd guess so…"

"Right," I interrupted, getting to my feet. "We've got shopping to do. Thanks for coming to wake me up."

He grabbed my arm on my way past and stopped me. I turned to him as he got back to his feet. He stared me down and I felt my hearts quicken with the intensity of his stare. It was like he was seeing through me, _into_ me, and it made me feel naked.

"I understand you don't want to talk about it," he said, his voice low. "But if you change your mind, I'm here. I'll protect you."

I looked up at him startled. This close his scent wrapped around me, teasing my senses and the urge to touch him frightened me. I tried to swallow the lump in my throat and just nodded.

"Good," he said letting go and stepping around me. "I'll see you downstairs. Oh, and I need to talk to you about your friends."

I shook my head, Martha had already told me my friends wouldn't remember any of yesterday or last night. "It's fine. Martha told me."

The Doctor nodded and I went to the bathroom to tidy my hair and wash my face, giving myself enough time to calm down and gather my thoughts. It wasn't long 'til I was downstairs helping the girls load my clothes into Zollie's van.

I decided it didn't matter how much money I had. I'd shop all day if it meant not having to go home, not having to relax or sleep; because I knew when I did that memory would come crashing back down around me. For so long I'd managed to avoid having to face the reality of it all by burying it in my mind and locking it away. I wasn't ready to face it still, and if shopping gave me a few hours more to avoid it then I'd spend every penny I had and every second I could.

Anything to keep the nightmare that was my reality at bay.

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	9. When Time Crosses Over

**Author's Note: THIS CHAPTER WILL BE UPDATED SOON… you can of course continue reading if you wish, but eventually you'll want to come back and REREAD it because there may be some drastic changes in the chapter. Fair warning. As much as it may suck you may want to hold off and read more later. Don't worry, the update is scheduled for release by 5/4/13.**

**Chapter Nine: When Time Crosses Over**

**XXXMANDYXXX**

The Crossroads Galleria Mall was secretly one of my favorite spots. The enormous glass-and-chrome complex might have been daunting to some, but not to me. Huge skylights capped the ceilings and mirrored hallways ran past stores, all leading to the coin-scattered fountains and immense food court.

We'd cruised the main floor past Eddie Bauer, Foot Locker, Hot Topic, Sharper Image, and The Gap. Chic fall fashions decked the window displays and SALE signs beckoned. Now, three hours of shopping and a smoothie break later, I was already exhausted. Finally it was time to eat and go home.

The food court was packed; some cooking show was giving product demonstrations and handing out free samples. I glanced towards the corner of the room. The food court was in the corner, full of mirrors, funky smells, and cool gray light from skylights that reflected an overcast sky. Lightning flashed, buried in the clouds. A few raindrops spattered on the glass, but inside it was warm and dry.

I glanced at our combined bags and shook my head. How on earth were we going to fit over twelve large bags and nine people in Zollie's van? The worst part was most of it was mine. Or maybe the worst part was that I'd only picked out two bags worth.

"Where do you suppose they are?" Martha asked stretching out of her seat to look around the crowded food court. "I'm hungry."

"They probably got distracted outside of Frederick's of Hollywood," Shaye joked.

I laughed as I sent another text to Mitchell to find out where they were. It was odd that we were done shopping before the boys. _ food court, waiting outside Tai Po. Where R U guys? _Although I didn't want to go home, I also was getting hungry and tired. It had been nice shopping with people again. I hadn't gone shopping with anyone in a long time. I'd spent so much of my time alone.

I spotted Mitchell coming through the crowd of shoppers and soon the others appeared right behind him. Shaye waved them down until they found us and they added their bags to the collection.

"So, I've got an awesome van," Zollie said looking at the pile. "But even I don't have room for all this."

"Sure you can. We'll just have to sit on each other's laps," Shaye said.

"So what are we doing for lunch?" Mitchell asked.

"Lunch would imply we are eating between the times of eleven-thirty and one-thirty. Considering it's now four I don't think lunch is the proper title," the Doctor said.

"Oh, you're just annoyed because we made you buy some normal clothes," Jack told the Doctor.

"Seriously? You got him to buy some?" Donna asked impressed. "Even I've never been able to do that!"

"Oh, yes I did!" Jack grinned as the Doctor glared at him. "Got him some good ol' jeans."

"Okay, so we were thinking we'd get Chinese," Martha interrupted. "They have some sweet and sour chicken I'm dying to try."

"Sounds good to me. I love Chinese," Clifton agreed.

"Well, one of us will have to stay with the bags," Mitchell pointed out.

"I will. I'm kind of tired," I offered.

Shaye stopped to look at me. "Are you okay? You've been really out of it since you got home."

"Yeah, I'm fine." I said giving her my best smile. "I'm probably just catching a cold."

"Okay," Shaye said accepting my excuse. "I'll get your food for you."

"I'll wait with her," the Doctor offered. "Keep her company."

"I'll get your food too then," Shaye offered. "What do you like?"

"Anything is fine, otherwise you can ask Martha. She'll know."

"M'kay, we'll be back."

The Doctor dropped beside me as we watched Shaye join the others in the long line outside of the Chinese booth. I nervously avoided eye contact with him. I knew he wanted to know what had had me so panicked while I'd slept but I just couldn't tell him. How could I? I'd not even told Shaye.

"How are you feeling?" He asked eventually.

"Fine," I said. "You?"

He grunted in mild irritation. "Are you going to avoid me until I leave?"

I turned to look at him but the look on his face wasn't one of annoyance, or even anger, it was of concern. And curiosity. I shook my head.

"Sorry, I'm not trying to be dodgy. I just really don't want to talk about earlier."

"I'm not going to ask you to. We all have things we'd like to keep private. You have to believe me when I say I know all too well about keeping secrets. So, the others tell me Shaye was your first friend."

"So what do you do? Out in space. Do you just go around saving the world?" I asked, innocently changing the subject.

"So what do you do here on Earth? Do you just keep to yourself and avoid conversation?"

We stared at each other. I sighed.

"Alright, point taken."

"You avoid _any_ conversation in which someone might learn something about you. Why?"

"Why should I have to share anything?"

"Maybe it would help you come to terms with whatever it is you're trying to avoid facing."

"Here's your food," Martha said coming up to the table. "Shaye's bringing yours over in a sec."

"Thank you," I said with a smile, thankful for the interruption.

Martha sat down across from us, sensing the tension. "Um, is everything okay?" she dared to ask.

"Everything's fine. Right?" I asked cheerfully.

The Doctor just stared at me as he bit the floret off from his broccoli stem like he would like to be doing that to my head. I rolled my eyes. The others joined us one by one and soon enough we were all laughing and eating. I forgot that I was irritated with the Doctor as I offered him his fortune cookie.

He laughed as he cracked it open, pulling out the piece of paper. A terrifying scream split the air. The Doctor leapt up from the table, scattering food and drinks. Pandemonium erupted as people ran screaming, trying to get out of the way of some flying creature.

Thunder rocked across the atrium as lightning lit the skylights overhead.

"What's happening?" Shaye asked panicking. "What is that thing?"

Whatever it was the people were running from it was too fast to see, a blur of color and wings, the size of a normal person. It wove up and down in the air knocking tables and chairs over as if it was hunting for something, or someone.

"Get out of here, all of you go!" Jack yelled at my friends.

"Don't have to tell me twice!" Zollie said snatching up bags from the table.

I watched my friends follow the crowd of screaming people to find an exit as far from here as possible. I didn't follow.

"What is it?" Martha asked coming up behind me.

"I don't know," the Doctor said frowning. He glanced down at me and shoved me towards Jack. "You aren't staying. Go!"

"What?" I asked annoyed. "I'm not going anywhere!"

"Jack," the Doctor called. "You get her out of here. I don't care if you have to drag her kicking and screaming. I want her safe."

"That's not fair!" I said as Jack grabbed my arm.

"Ugh, I'd be glad to trade places," Donna moaned. "I am so tired of all the running."

"Maybe I can help?" I argued as Jack started pulling me away.

"All you can do is get yourself killed. We have no idea what that thing is."

An explosion of plants and tables reinforced his point. Jack whipped a gun out of nowhere faster than I could blink. I hadn't even known he'd had a gun!

"What are you doing?" the Doctor yelled slamming the pistol down to his side.

"That thing is getting closer and it's tearing down everything in its path. Do you want it to take you along with everything else?"

"It hasn't hurt _anyone_," the Doctor growled. "So don't you _dare_! I told you to get her out of here."

Suddenly the creature noticed our presence and made a beeline straight for us.

"Duck!" the Doctor yelled.

We made it out of the way just as it took out our table and the rest of our food. I couldn't help rethinking my decision of wanting to stay. With it actually trying to kill us I was bit more afraid than I'd thought.

"Jack!" Martha yelled helping Donna to her feet. "Get Mandy out of here! Now!"

"Fine, but I'm coming back! Don't get yourselves killed! Come on," Jack snapped grabbing my wrist and pulling me the opposite direction as the creature dove after the Doctor who was leaping over tables leading it away from us.

"What if he gets hurt? He may need our help!"

Jack paused a moment as we headed for a hallway just off the food court. He looked back to see the creature dive bombing the Doctor, who was having brilliant luck avoiding getting hit. He shook his head.

"No, they're right. You have to go."

I decided to go along with him since I didn't have much of a choice under the current circumstances. I figured if I tried to fight him off he'd just yank my arm out of its socket anyways, then I'd really be no help. I looked over my shoulder. I shoved Jack aside as a stray chair flew at us at top speed and narrowly missed us.

"Keep moving!" Jack hollered at me as we both kept looking behind us.

A sharp pain split my head as something crashed into me. The view vanished as I lost my footing and went down, slamming into the hard floor. My breath was knocked from my lungs and I opened my mouth in a wheezing gasp as I was unable to scream.

Jack helped me to my feet as I struggled to catch my breath as another guy helped a red-haired girl up in front of us.

"Sorry," the guy said. "We're in a bit of a hurry."

"Yeah, know what you mean," Jack said. "Might I suggest you be in a hurry going the opposite direction?"

"Can't," the red-haired girl said. "We, um, have something to take care of. Sorry about your head."

I looked her over rubbing my skull. She was pretty. Long red hair, fair skin, incredibly long legs. I shook my head and waved my hand at her.

"I'm fine, but you really don't want to go that way."

"We really don't but we kind of have to…" A loud explosion interrupted her from the food court. "And that means we really need to stop them."

They dashed past us and the guy looked back over his shoulder with a wave.

"Um, it was nice running into you!"

We stared after them, both of us stuck on her last word. 'Them'.

"Jack… we've only seen…"

"One," he finished. "We need to get you out of here. Now."

We turned back towards the hall and came face to face with another of the creatures. It hovered above the ground, its wings beating furiously. I stared at it in surprise and aw. It was a faery. He looked like a ten-year-old little boy with wings and red eyes.

I felt Jack's hand wrap around my arm, pulling me back. The faery boy smiled delighted, revealing razor sharp teeth and a set of fangs. His eyes never left mine as he grinned.

"Found you," he said with childish glee.

My eyes widened as he launched himself midair towards me. Jack shoved me out of the way and the faery crashed into him. They careened across the floor, crashing through tables and chairs. Jack wrestled with the abnormally strong faery as he tried to sink his teeth into his face.

"Get down that hall!"

His voice brought me out of my temporary paralysis and I turned and ran for the mirrored hallway as fast as I could. When I entered the bright hall I felt something pass over me, a feeling of terror I couldn't suppress.

Thunder cracked and the lights dimmed. I saw myself reflected in the darkened mirror, the reflection twisted, my face becoming strange and sneering. It was not my own image at all, but that of an older woman with silver-blonde hair and the hypnotic, slitted eyes of an animal.

"I know who you are," the woman said, her voice smooth as velvet.

I was mesmerized. Every fiber of my being screamed at me to run, but I couldn't move. _'I know who you are'_. But, who _am_ I?

"You are right to be afraid." The animal-woman's words seemed to float through the air. "The faeries have foretold darkness will befall you."

"Call them off!" I cried. My own voice sounded desperate to my ears, childish and high.

"Only your power can keep you safe," the woman continued. "But you need to make it truly yours."

The woman jerked her finger upward, and the necklace around my neck flew into the air. The chain tightened, biting into the back of my neck. The woman twisted her hand, pulling my necklace closer, making me cry out in pain. My feet slid across the floor as I tried to pull away.

"Doctor!" I yelled.

Somewhere in the court I could hear him shouting instructions to the others.

"You don't need anyone."

"Who are you?" I gasped.

"Don't you recognise me, dear?" the woman spoke. So cool, so casual, the words held no threat, no pain, just truth. "I am you."

My eyes widened.

"You want power. I can give it to you."

The woman's eyes blazed, and for the first time, I tasted the full power of being a Time Lady—and it was overwhelming. I felt the tilt of the Earth and time itself passing. I could see into the past, and I could see into the future. All the things that could be, would be, wouldn't be.

In the corner of my eye a form flew into sight, the faery. His eyes glowed with malice as he realised I was trapped where I was, held by whatever power the woman had over me. Jack appeared at the entrance to the hallway knocking the faery to the floor.

"What are you doing standing there?"

I stared in horror at the mirror, couldn't he see her? The woman laughed, enjoying my fear.

"Jack! It's the woman! It's the woman in the…"

The faery pulled itself from Jack's grip and flew past me. He stopped midair and turned to head butt me, knocking me across the floor towards Jack. Whatever the faery had done it had broken the woman's spell.

Jack reached under my elbows to pick me up as I stared into the mirror but she was gone. The faery attacked us again, knocking Jack and I backwards across the floor and back out into the food court. I heard Jack's head crack against something hard.

"Jack! Jack are you okay?"

I started to panic when he didn't respond and a pool of red began to run across the white floor under his skull. I looked around frantically for anything or anyone who could help. The Doctor had managed to trap the other faery within a glass phone booth but they he was having a time of it keeping it inside, even with Martha and the red-haired girl's help; Donna was a few feet away clutching her stomach and gasping for air as the other guy helped her up.

This didn't look good for any of us. _Think! There has to be something you can do_. I saw the faery fly out of the hallway and hover there watching me. _What can I do? There's no way I can drag Jack with me and hide. I can't even outrun the faery!_ The faery sensed my fear and smiled and with a burst of speed headed straight for me. A man stepped quickly in front of me, his hands held out in front of him and the faery froze mere inches from his face.

"Enough," he said. "Leave them alone."

The faery's eyes widened and it glanced at me before glaring at the man.

"You know who I am," the man said slowly. "And you know what I can do. Now I'm giving you the chance to do the right thing and _not_ touch her _again_."

Whoever he was and whatever he meant the faery took his warning and backed off. He flew across the room to hover there nervously, glancing at the other faery still trapped in the glass booth. On his own, and without his friend to back him up, he had lost his courage.

The man turned to me, looking me over silently. I stared at him, unsure what to say or do. His brown hair was long in the front and swept out of his deep set eyes. His black shoes were worn and his trousers were cuffed to reveal ridiculously patterned socks. I felt my eyebrow lift when I noticed his bowtie and tweed jacket.

He looked young but there was something about him that felt _old_. It wasn't his skin, nor his hands, but something in the way he held his shoulders; in the way his head drooped, something that made me think he was handsome and dangerous at once. I felt something in me stir, a connection I didn't understand and a longing I couldn't explain. Our eyes locked for a moment. Bright eyes as hazel as mine were green, eyes that didn't match the youthful look of the rest of his body—the gaze shot through the air and startled me.

Despite the fact that this man was a complete stranger to me there was something that drew me to him, something familiar; like running into an old friend after many years.

I looked back at Jack hurriedly and crawled over to him, placing my hands at his throat to check for a pulse. I panicked when I didn't find one.

"No," I said, running my hands under his bleeding scalp. "Oh God, please! Jack!"

I felt the first sob bubble up into my throat as I stared at the blood running down my fingers. _He's dead_. _He died trying to help me_. '_Darkness will befall you'_ _that's what woman told me_. _Is this what she meant?_

The man in the tweed jacket got onto his knees beside me, turning me so I would face him. "Hey, it's going to be alright."

I looked up at him, tears spilling over my cheeks. "He's _dead_! Why does everyone keep telling me that?!"

"He's not completely dead," the guy argued. "He'll come around, trust me."

"_What_? _Come around_? Why should I trust _you_?"

"Because," he said with a sad smile. "I'm the Doctor."

I stared at him, a million thoughts and feelings crashing through me; disbelief, worry, confusion, anger, excitement. I glanced over at the Doctor, _my_ Doctor, and then looked back at the man holding onto me and shook my head.

"You can't be. He's the Doctor." What little bit I had learned on Gallifrey was that you were to never cross over your own timeline; you were never to interact with yourself whether it be in the future or the past. It was taboo, because if you did it created a paradox that could tear the fabric of time itself apart, destroying all of time and space. "_How_? You aren't _allowed_! It shouldn't be possible…"

I screamed as Jack's hand suddenly grabbed tightly onto my wrist and he lurched up with an agonizing gasp. Dropping back onto the floor he stared up at the ceiling with wide eyes, noticing my look of absolute terror he released my wrist as he groaned.

"Damn, that never gets any easier," he said stretching.

"You... you were..." I turned to look into the other Doctor's face. "But he was…!"

The other Doctor grinned at me in amusement, "Yeah, he does that."

The sound of glass shattering drew us back to the situation at hand and we turned to see the Doctor covering Martha and the other girl with his arms. The other guy dragged Donna out of the way of raining glass.

The first fairy had apparently had enough of being locked in a glass booth. She hovered high in the air, her long brown hair blowing behind her as her wings beat up and down. Slowly her red eyes located her friend who flew to join her instantly.

The Doctor was pulling Martha carefully to her feet so she wouldn't cut herself on broken glass. I stared at the faeries as a feeling of frustration and desperation hit me in waves. The faeries suddenly turned to pin their gaze on me. I clenched my hands into the other Doctor's shirt.

"They've come for me," I said, somehow able to sense the faeries.

"What do you mean?" He asked confused.

"I can feel them! She said they foretold something dark happening to me," I said panicking.

The red glow in the faeries' eyes grew more sinister as they spoke to each other in some strange language.

The other Doctor wrapped his hands around my upper arms, holding onto me tightly. "Who said that?" He demanded. "Who do you mean?"

I shook my head. "I don't know! There was a woman—in the mirror."

He opened his mouth to say something when the faeries let out an angry screech and flew straight towards us. Neither of us had time to react before gun shots exploded in my ears and he pulled my head to his chest protectively. I watched in horror as the faeries screamed when bullets shot through them. The boy dropped first. With each shot the other faery's body spasmed and jerked. She hit the floor with a sick thud not far from where her friend lay still in a pool of blood.

I lifted my head slowly, eyes wide, and turned to stare at the gun in Jack's hand.

No one said a word as they stared at either Jack or the faeries. With a sharp pain in my chest something in me snapped. Without thought I jumped to my feet, knocking the gun from his hands. I could feel them; somehow, I could feel the faeries dying. I felt their pain, their desperateness to survive. And that connection flared through me red hot.

"You idiot!" I screamed at him.

Jack and the other Doctor stared at me startled as I ran towards the faeries. I felt one trying to cling to consciousness. I didn't understand. _Why? How can I feel them?_ I didn't know but I could. Their sadness, their fear. Their pain as if it was me who'd been shot.

"What's the matter with _her_?" Jack asked angrily.

"Miranda," the Doctor hollered at me. "Don't go near them!"

I saw the Doctor coming towards me and I stopped only a couple feet away, staring down at the small body of the little girl. I froze in confusion. There were no wings. No fangs in her gasping mouth. Instead of a red glow bright blue eyes stared up at me in pain and fear.

Suddenly that overwhelming power coursed through my veins again. I didn't know if it was the woman casting some spell over me again or if I was doing it myself but now I knew what to do with that power. I lifted my hands in front me as they glowed with a strange light.

The food court tilted at a dizzying angle. Diamond fire burst up my legs, twisting like snakes around my arms, rocketing into my brain and into the very depths of my heart. Power rushed through me like a tornado threatening to take me off the face of the earth. Stars exploded behind my eyes as magic crackled like lightning across the room.

"Don't do it!" I heard the other Doctor yell to the Doctor. "Don't touch her! Miranda close off the connection. You can't control it!"

"What's she doing? Doctor, what's happening to her?" Martha shouted.

"I don't know," I heard the Doctor answer as I knelt beside the fairy. "What _is_ she doing?"

"She's channeling the raw power of the vortex. But she doesn't know what she's doing yet, it'll kill her," the other Doctor said; his voice closer than before.

Their voices faded away as I placed my hands on either side of the child's face. Tears ran down her cheeks as she took an agonizing breath. I forced the power through her veins, forcing life back into her heart. Her eyes met mine and I understood. She wasn't bad or cruel, she was afraid, and like any other scared little girl she'd struck out.

"Why are you here?" I asked her.

"The guardian… has to die," she gasped.

"Why? Why do you want me dead?"

I felt the others coming closer to me, listening to us. The little girl brought her hand up to cover mine.

"Not me," she cried. "_Them_. They said that you had to die if we wanted to live."

"I don't understand," I said, tears dripping down my face.

I felt my body burning up; I wasn't strong enough to heal her. I couldn't keep her alive. The longer I kept her alive the closer I was coming to death.

"Miranda, you have to stop! You're going to die!" the other Doctor panicked. "No Rory! Don't touch them! If anyone touches her now it'll kill them."

I knew he was right. I had to release the power, but I couldn't. Not yet. There was so much I needed to know.

"Save them," the child choked. "Please, please save them."

"Who?" I asked desperately. "Save who?"

"The others. He changes us… More and more… He kills us. Save them."

"He changes you… You mean there are more of you? Other faeries?"

The little girl choked and blood escaped from her mouth as her eyes glazed over.

"Will you save us?" the faery choked.

"What? I… yes. Yes, I'll save you just tell me how!"

"One… will see in darkness," she whispered, staring foggily toward the skylight.

'_The faeries have foretold that darkness will befall you.'_

"What does that mean? Who will see in darkness?" I asked weakly.

"Miranda let her go! She's dying and you're going with her!"

I could hear the desperateness in his voice and slowly I withdrew my hands from her face, severing our connection. I felt my body spasm as the power didn't fade away. I couldn't stop it; I didn't want to stop it. With this power, I could do anything my heart desired and it was all _mine_.

Somewhere in the back of my mind I heard the animal-woman laughing cruelly. I felt myself floating, looking down at myself as if in a dream. I looked up and the animal-woman floated in front of me, she smiled revealing perfectly white teeth. Her animal eyes blazed as she reached a long silvery claw towards me.

With a sudden blast of white light I was back on the floor, pulled into someone's lap, their lips pressed against mine. I felt them blow air into my lungs and I inhaled desperately. My eyes shot open and I looked into the face of the other Doctor. Pure and selfless, he was giving up his life for me, fighting to pull me back from the woman's grasp. I clung to his power like a shield. I felt caught between forces I could barely comprehend. But I knew that if I succumbed to the woman, the other Doctor would fall with me.

Her power flared through my body, as long as I channeled it I would still be hers. I stared up into the glass ceiling seeing her snarling face looking down on me. In the other Doctor's lap I took an unsteady breath and glared at the woman through teary eyes. My hands flared with white light.

"_Who are you?" I'd asked her._

"_Don't you recognise me, dear?" She'd asked. "I am you."_

"I am _not_ you!" I cried at the woman. I threw my hands in front of me and the power blasted outward, every ounce of it directed at the wicked face in the skylight.

Power exploded in the food court, shattering the glass. Shock waves ricocheted like gunfire as silver shards flew everywhere. I scarcely noticed as the others fell to the floor around us, knocked back by the force. Then, everything was quiet.

"Talk to me," the other Doctor said rubbing my cheeks. "Miranda, look at me."

"Did you see her?" I gasped, staring up into his eyes desperately. "Could you see her?"

"Yes," he said with a worried frown. "But not until I touched you."

I closed my eyes relieved. It wasn't just in my mind. She had been real.

"What the _hell_ was that?" I heard a girl yell at the other Doctor. "I thought you said if anyone touched her it'd kill them!"

"It would've," he told her.

"Then _why_ would you _touch_ her?!" she screeched angrily, smacking him across the shoulder. "And why the hell would you _kiss_ her?!" She smacked him again.

"_Amy_," Rory said grabbing onto her arms and pulling her back. "I'm sure he has a _perfectly_ good explanation.

"He'd better!" Amy said angrily.

Ignoring Amy, he lowered me from his lap and stormed over to Jack and blew up in his face. He shook a finger at him glowering.

"You have _always_ been such an impossible man! _How_ many times have I told you time and time again _not_ to shoot! _Every_ time we're in a tight spot you start killing!"

"Now listen, buddy! I don't even… Ooooh!" Jack's eyes widened and he stared back and forth between both Doctors. "You have _got_ to be kidding!"

The Doctor looked his next regeneration over from head to foot and his eyebrows rose as high as they would go. He opened his mouth in disbelief and shook his head.

"_Nooo_," he said appalled. "It's a paradox! You can't be here."

"Nope. No paradox."

"Oh no," the Doctor groaned running his hand through his hair.

"Oh, yes."

"No!"

"Sorry, yeah."

"Doctor? What's going on?" Martha asked.

"He's me," he told them.

"What do you mean he's you?" Donna asked.

"I _mean_ he's _me_—I'm him—He's my future," the Doctor said exasperatedly.

"Oh, that's just, just… creepy," Donna said staring at them back and forth.

"Oi!" both Doctor's exclaimed.

"Sweetie, I need you!" a woman called running across the room.

"I'm a _bit_ busy at the moment," the other Doctor said exasperatedly.

I got to my feet unsteadily and found my way between Donna and Martha. I didn't know what to say, or where to start, my mind was racing too fast to concentrate. The woman joined our group, her long, curly blond hair pinned back out of her eyes. She pulled some gadget out of one of the many cases fastened to her black belt. Her all black ensemble clung to her curves and gave Mandy the impression of a cat burglar, complete with black leather boots and gloves.

"Oh, _well_ _then_ don't let me interrupt you," she said sarcastically.

"No, now wait," the Doctor interrupted before the other Doctor could retort and stormed towards him. "You can't _be_ here. It'd cause a major paradoxical effect within the TARDIS. She shouldn't even allow you to land."

"Oh, she put up quite a fuss at first," he admitted. "But after some tinkering she saw it my way."

"Tinkering? Some _tinkering_? Just what did you do?" the Doctor asked horrified. "Knowing me it can't be good."

"_Ohh_, ye of so little faith," the other Doctor argued. "It was quite simple really. I just shunted the reality compensators on the TARDIS, recalibrated the Doomsday bumpers and jettisoned the karaoke bar. This way the TARDIS can sustain the paradox 'til we get everything sorted."

"But that's… actually, that's brilliant. Why hadn't I thought of that?" the Doctor wondered impressed.

"Don't worry, you will."

"_Doctor_," the woman tried to interrupt.

"And you!" the Doctor suddenly burst out. "_Again_!"

"I'm sorry?" She asked confused.

"Doctor isn't that?" Donna asked stepping closer to him to get a better look.

"Umm, yes, right. Uh, River—Maybe you should go back to the TAR—" the other Doctor said nervously.

"It is! Doctor! That's River Song!" Donna exclaimed.

"Actually, it's _Professor_ River Song now. Have we met? Time travel, I don't always meet people in the right order. Especially with this man," River said.

The other Doctor whispered in her ear and her eyes widened. The woman looked at us confused for a moment before looking back at the other Doctor and her eyes widened.

"Oh, well now. The mind races," she said with a devilish grin. "Weren't you the pretty boy?"

"_River_," the other Doctor groaned. "Behave."

"And yet you'd be ever so disappointed if I listened to you," she teased.

"Depends on the night," he stated.

"Oh, but the night is the best time to misbehave," she teased.

"Then do me a favor and save it for then?" he asked.

"What do I get out of it?" she asked.

"Do you really want to go there?" he teased.

"Only with you, sweetie," she grinned.

"This is not the time!" Amy interrupted. "Doctor! You kissed her when you said if anyone touched her it'd kill them!"

"Amy! You aren't helping!" the other Doctor said appalled, glancing at River.

"Kissed _who_?" She asked, eyebrows rising.

Amy's finger pointed directly at me and I felt the urge to duck behind Martha, unease wafting over me again. River's eyes pinned me and she looked at the other Doctor expressionless.

"Miranda."

"She was dying. I gave her a few years that's all," the other Doctor told her. "I'll explain later but you were right. Time's being rewritten."

She stared at me and shook her head. "They're altering history."

"More specifically, mine."

"It hasn't happened yet has it?" River asked worriedly.

The other Doctor glanced back at me and then to his past self. His silence was apparently answer enough and River glanced at Amy and Rory who were standing beside them looking confused and mildly annoyed.

"We're going back to the TARDIS. We have to go," River told them.

"What about you?" Amy asked the Doctor. "Doctor, what're you keeping from us?"

"I'll explain _later_. Now go before I get cross!"

"_Ohhh_, are you Mr. Grumpyface today," Amy mocked.

The other Doctor rolled his eyes and then grumbled a bit before nodding his head in mild irritation and giving up.

"Yes. You're right. I am definitely Mr. Grumpyface today," he said admittedly. "Now! Can we all _please_ get moving?"

River moved a little closer to him and whispered in his ear. They stood there a moment talking privately and I couldn't help but notice that they kept glancing my way. I stepped up between Donna and the Doctor, unable to shake the strange feeling something was wrong with me.

"Are you alright?" Donna asked, placing a hand on my shoulder.

I glanced back at the bodies of the two children and shook my head. "I don't know."

Without any warning, River hauled off and smacked the other Doctor across the face. His eyes were wide as he shook it off and nodded his head. I caught River's look and shrank back behind the Doctor, expecting to be the next on her list.

"_Okay_, I deserved that one," the other Doctor admitted.

"Yes, you did." She agreed.

"Right, so," the other Doctor said animatedly. "Rory, River, Amy. Back to the TARDIS. The rest of you had better come along as well. I don't want any of you out of my sight until I work this all out."

"Work what out?" Martha asked. "And where are we going?"

"To the TARDIS haven't you been listening?"

"Wait a minute, how can you both be the same person?" Martha asked the Doctor. "You told me, the first time we met—"

"I told you I couldn't cross over my own timeline except for cheap tricks. Well, Martha Jones, this is a _very_ cheap trick. Besides, that was eighty years ago. I've had some time to work things out since then," the other Doctor supplied.

"Eighty years! Just when I think I've started to understand you, you go and blow me out of the water again."

I stood there silently, watching the conversation like a tennis match, my head whipping one way and then the other.

"We're not actually bringing them with us are we?" Amy asked quietly, trying not to be overheard.

"Yes," the other Doctor told her. "Is that a problem?"

"Well, you haven't exactly told us who they are," Amy pointed out.

"They're my companions. Well, _were_ my companions. Just like you and Rory. It's just they aren't now, now you are. But they were then. When I was him."

"We're all such tiny parts of your life aren't we?" Amy asked.

"_Now_? Amy? You want to do this _now_?" the other Doctor asked.

"No, no you're right. I'll see you in the TARDIS."

I watched her and Rory follow River towards the mirrored hallway and shivered. I accidently bumped the Doctor and he turned to look at me for the first time.

"Are you alright?" He asked, feeling my face with his hands.

"I want you three to go with them," the other Doctor told Martha, Donna and Jack. "River can answer most of your questions. We'll be right behind you."

I watched them walk away, talking quietly amongst each other and glancing back now and then. The other Doctor stepped up beside him and flashed his screwdriver in my eyes.

"Slow reaction time," he said. "What have you done since you met her? How long is this?"

"I saved her on Monday—"

"What do you mean saved her?" the other Doctor interrupted.

"There was a Byrrn stalking her the other night, we'd followed it for three days before it had done anything. We got her on the TARDIS before it ate her. _We_ should know this."

"Byrrns aren't usually aggressive," the other Doctor thought aloud distractedly, while staring in my eyes. "I don't understand it, everything is changing. And look there." The other Doctor pointed into my eyes. "Her eyes are changing. This didn't happen for months when I'd met her. But I can feel it, even now, my history with her is changing. And I have a feeling not for the better."

"What does that mean? Your history with me?" I asked confused.

He smiled at me and touched me on the head, almost sadly. "Nothing. Nothing for you to worry about. But now that the others are gone I need you to tell me something—honestly."

I glanced between the two Doctors and then back at the two bloody children on the floor. The other Doctor stepped in my view, blocking my sight of them.

"Miranda, the woman you saw. The woman in the skylight, what did she look like?"

"What woman? I didn't see a woman," the Doctor said staring back and forth at us.

"I know, I didn't either. Not until I'd touched her. But to me she was like a shadow, I imagine Mandy could see her clearly, am I right?"

I nodded, picturing her, her face etched at the front of my mind, her evil features burning behind my eyes.

"She had white hair and she was pale," I offered. "And she had an animal's eyes, like slits."

"Have you seen her before?" the Doctor asked.

I nodded my head again, staring at the mirrored hallway where the others had disappeared. They turned their heads, following my gaze.

"What's the matter?" the other Doctor asked.

"She was there," I told them. "The faery, the second one attacked me but Jack shoved me out of the way and told me to run. But when I got in there… she was in the mirror."

"Okay, I need you to remember exactly what happened. Every detail you can. What happened before you saw her?"

I pictured it in my head as best I could, but I had been so panicked it was hard to remember exactly.

"There was thunder… and then the lights went dark. And then when I looked in the mirror she was there."

"Did she do anything? Say anything at all?" the Doctor asked me.

They both stared at me intensely and I shivered. The Doctor took off his long brown jacket and draped it over my shoulders and I clutched it tight around me, his scent comforting me.

"She did," I said suddenly, startling them both a bit. "She said—she said, '_I know who you are._' But that didn't make any sense to me. I've never seen her before today in my life. And I remember she said it and it confused me because how could she possibly know me when…" my voice trailed off and I stared at the bottom of the Doctor's coat, pooling on the floor.

"When what?" the other Doctor pressed.

"When I don't even know myself," I said quietly.

They were silent a long moment. I knew that they were somehow communicating telepathically and I didn't bother to look up. _I should be able to do that_, I thought. _I'm a Time Lord too. I should be able to hear them_.

"Was there anything else?" the Doctor asked slowly.

I nodded. "She told me I was right to be afraid of her, that the faeries said that something bad would happen to me."

"Why didn't you run?" the other Doctor asked confused. "If you were afraid, why didn't you run?"

"I tried," I said looking up at him, tears clinging to my lashes. "But I couldn't. It was like I couldn't remember how to make my legs move and then she did something to my necklace and she started dragging me towards the mirror. It dug into my neck."

The Doctors quickly stepped behind me and pulled the jacket down to investigate my neck. I heard the Doctor sigh and glanced back at them.

"What? What is it?"

"Well, we can't say you're making that part up."

"I'm not making it up!" I cried.

The Doctor's eyes opened wide and he raised his hands defensively. "No, no! I didn't mean it that way! I believe you!"

"She was real," I continued. "She knew me! She was there and she did something to me! She told me I didn't need anyone and that she could give me real power. And then—and then she said that she was…" I stopped suddenly, the tears finally bursting over the edges of my cheeks.

"What did she tell you she was?" The other Doctor asked desperately. "Miranda you have to tell me everything!"

"She said she was _me_," I said. "But _I'm_ me. I don't… I don't want to be her."

"Don't panic. Hey, look at me. It's okay," the other Doctor said pulling me into a hug and patting me on the back. "Everything is just fine! She was just trying to scare you. I'll figure this out. Don't you worry about it, alright?"

"Doctor!" I heard River's voice echo through the court. "Doctor the police are entering the building, we have to go now!"

"Well, that's our cue," the other Doctor said. "Run!"

He took off towards the mirrored hallway, the Doctor behind him. They stopped to look back at me when they noticed I wasn't following. I stared at the dark mirrored hallway and then back at the dead children.

They had been faeries, real _flying_ faeries. But now they were just two little kids lying dead in a mass of debris. Where had they come from? What were they? _Who_ were they? Did they have parents who'd miss them? The Doctor's hand slipped into mine.

"Come on," he said. "Run."

I glanced up at him and nodded. He pulled me along, my free hand clinging to his jacket to keep from losing it. Outside the mirrored hallway I faltered, but the Doctor tightened his hand and kept going.

"She can't hurt you now," he told me over his shoulder. "I won't let you anywhere she can."

"Come on you two!" Donna hollered from the TARDIS at the end of the hall.

We burst through the door and Amy shut it behind us just as we felt the TARDIS start to dematerialise. The Doctor and I looked around the large console room in awe. It was much larger than his and he wandered around taking it all in. It was shinier and newer and I noticed there wasn't a speck of dust anywhere and the caged flooring had been replaced with solid glass, so you could see the workings below the floor. It even had two levels.

"Blimey, this is _unbelievable_," the Doctor said joyfully. "Oh, that's brilliant that is! I am looking forward to _this_!"

We joined Martha, Donna, Jack, Amy, and Rory up at the console as the Next Doctor dashed around the console flicking and twisting and pulling things. River followed behind him undoing half of what he set.

The TARDIS lurched to a dizzying angle and began shuddering violently. Amy and Rory had already clung to something instinctively but the rest of us fell to the floor, grabbing onto the nearest solid object to keep from sliding across the glass floors. The TARDIS gave a violent bump and Amy hollered something at the other Doctor.

"No, no it's fine. It always does that!"

"Oh for god's sake use the stabilisers!" River shouted clinging to the opposite side of the console.

"It doesn't have stabilisers!" the other Doctor argued.

"The blue switches!"

"The blue ones don't do anything, they're just—blue!"

"Yes, they're blue: they're the _blue_ stabilisers!"

River clung her way over next to him, shoving him out of the way as she slammed her down on a couple of blue buttons. The TARDIS suddenly became still with a slight groan and we all got to our feet dizzily.

"See?" River said smugly, adjusting her tight black shirt back into place.

"Yeah? Well, it's boring now, isn't it? They're boring-ers! They're blue... _boring-ers_!"

We all looked at this future Doctor and then back at our Doctor. Their personalities were so different it was scary. It was like his future self had turned into a fourteen-year-old. And now that I really looked him over he _did_ look really young.

"Oh, brilliant. I'm a madman in the future. Lovely," the Doctor groaned.

"A madman in a blue box," Amy corrected.

"Doctor, how come she can fly the TARDIS?" I asked the Doctor. "No one should be able to understand its workings."

"You call _that_ flying the TARDIS? Ha!" the other Doctor scoffed.

"Okay, I've mapped the probability vectors, done a foldback on the temporal isometry, charted the ship to its destination and..." River pressed a button and a bell clanged, "…parked us right alongside."

"I'm guessing I probably teach her to fly it in the future," the Doctor told me.

"Who is she?" I asked him.

He looked at me from the corner of his eye and cleared his throat instead of answering me. I stared at him in confusion. Maybe he was being truthful when he'd said that even he had his own secrets.

"Parked us? We haven't even landed," the other Doctor told River.

"Of course we've landed; I just landed her," she said bringing a large red monitor around for him to see.

"But it didn't make the noise," the other Doctor said confused.

"What noise?" the Doctor asked.

"You know, the..." the other Doctor did an impression of the TARDIS materializing.

Donna and Jack cracked up laughing while the rest of us simply looked at him slightly amused.

"I noticed that as well…" the Doctor said.

"It's not _supposed_ to make that noise. _You_ leave the brakes on," River told both Doctors, cracking a grin.

"Yes, well, it's a brilliant noise. I _love_ that noise," the other Doctor said sounding slightly depressed.

Our Doctor just stared at her in mild annoyance.

"Where are we?" I asked stepping closer to River to look at the monitor attached to the central column.

"January 12, 1777, Albion, Earth," River told me.

"Why?" the Doctor asked. "What's here?"

"This is where the faeries are from. Where they were created," River told him.

"Created? You mean they weren't born this way?"

"No," the other Doctor told him. "And for some reason they've sought her out."

Both Doctors looked at me and I shook my head. This was bordering on the insane and the ridiculous. I was on a future TARDIS with the tenth and eleventh incarnations of the Doctor and their many companions. I only just remembered who I was and already I'd been attacked by apparently fake faeries and an evil woman in a mirror.

"Wait a minute. Let's start at the beginning, please?" I asked feeling overwhelmed again. "Who are they? The faery said something about 'he changes us.' But who? How? And will you please tell me who _they_ are?"

I pointed at Amy, Rory, and River who were now talking quietly together near the control hub. They looked up at me when I pointed at them. The other Doctor took my arm and pulled me over.

"Miranda. Let me introduce you to my latest companions. This is Amy Pond and Mr. Pond. Also known as Rory…"

"No! I'm not Mr. Pond. That's not how it works."

"Yeah, it is," the other Doctor assured him.

Rory glanced at Amy nervously as she arched a perfectly manicured eyebrow and he nodded his head. "..._Yeeaaaah_, it is."

I smiled slightly as I shook hands with Rory who gave me a friendly smile. Amy's grip though was much tighter than Rory's, I felt the challenge immediately. She smiled at me but there was something behind her eyes that made me think she was less than happy to meet me officially.

Finally I turned to River and waited for the introduction. It came very slowly as she and I looked each other up and down. River smiled at me finally and offered me her hand; I noted the expensive bracelet and her perfectly manicured red nails.

"Professor River Song, archeologist."

"Miranda Tate. Um, unemployed due to alien abduction."

River laughed genuinely at me before glancing at the other Doctor. "You said she was nice, you didn't say she was gorgeous too."

"Yes, well. Wasn't important," the other Doctor said shaking his head. "So, anyways this is apparently really early for her so…"

"Yes, I remember," she said. "You my lady are going to have a rough time of it. Especially with this one on hand…"

"_River_, say nothing!" the other Doctor warned.

"Oh, sweetie you know me better than that…"

"I do. That's why I'm concerned."

"_Sweetie_?" I asked them. "Are you two…?"

They both looked at each other and the Doctor came up behind me and dragged me away.

"Let's not do this now, _hm_? I was given a chance to peek at the end once, which I didn't take; I'd rather not have it told to me full out."

"What do you mean a peek?" River made an 'O' shape with her mouth. "_Ohhh_, my diary. You see my diary in the future?"

The Doctor glanced at her uncomfortably. "Well, your future."

"How? When?" She asked curiously.

"Spoilers," the other Doctor interrupted.

"But what's so special about a diary?" I asked.

"It's her past, my—future," the Doctor said awkwardly.

"Oh, I see." I said quietly.

_Then I'm right, they're together_. I turned to look at Donna and Martha who were watching us in interest. Jack seemed to be enjoying the whole show as if it was a television marathon.

"Oi! Let's get back on track, yeah?" Donna asked drawing their attention. "What are we doing here? I'm tired and confused so someone better start telling me somethin' or I'm gonna start knockin' heads!"

"Oh, Donna, how I've missed you!" the other Doctor told her with a large smile. "We're here because we popped in for a little exploring in the 18th century but on our way through Albion we stumbled upon a bit of a mystery…"

"Over the past month there have been numerous reports of vampires attacking cargo ships off the coast of Albion and slaughtering the crewmen," River explained to us.

"Wait, you mean there are actually vampires? Real, blood-sucking vampires?" Martha asked incredulously.

"Oh, yeah," the Doctor said. "And they are much worse than even _your_ human brains can come up with."

"I'm going to ignore that statement," Martha said, miffed. "So what are they doing in the 18th century attacking ships?"

"That's what we're trying to find out. But first we had to track the ones that figured out how to time-jump," the other Doctor supplied.

"But vampires can't travel through time," the Doctor pointed out.

"Forget the time travel. What do you know about these attacks?" Jack asked. "And what do vampires attacking ships in the 18th century have to do with those two faeries attacking the 21st century?"

"What do you know about faeries Jack? You've encountered them before. Were they like the faeries you saw earlier?"

Jack shook his head. "I've dealt with 'faeries' before. And they don't look or operate anything like this."

"Well, we were able to recover a corpse, a _vampire_ corpse, at one of the sights here."

River snapped a button on the monitor and a picture popped up on the screen of a slaughtered child with wings.

"This is a picture of the remains," the other Doctor told us.

"It's one of them. It's a faery," Martha said.

"Wait… vampires are faeries?" Donna asked.

"That's a pretty unusual mutation even for vampires," the Doctor said whipping his glasses on and looking at the monitor closely.

"Whatever it is, it isn't natural. The autopsy indicated he wasn't born this way. His vampirism was an acquired trait."

"So he was made into a vampire…" Jack said.

"We've discovered he was an orphan and he was adopted by this gentleman…" the other Doctor tapped a button on the screen and the image changed to an elderly man with a very thin face structure and round glasses. He looked slightly deranged and had a strange gleam to his eyes.

"Who is he?" I asked stepping up between the Doctors to get a closer look.

"Professor James Barrie. The former director at the University Of Londinium Medical School. He also happens to be a ranking aristocrat of Albion. Currently retired. He runs a small children's home on one of the Channel Islands."

"I don't like the look of this. Mysteries that involve children…" the Doctor said.

"So what do we do?" Martha asked. "I mean what does he have to do with the vampires?"

"That's what we need to find out," the other Doctor said with a mad grin. "So what say you Doctor?"

The Doctor looked at him frowning and then a smile slowly spread on his face.

"Allons-y!"

Both Doctor's raced for the entrance to the TARDIS grinning excitedly. _Okay, so maybe they aren't so different_. They both popped their heads into the TARDIS and stared at us.

"Well? Are you coming or what?" the other Doctor asked.

"Come on, Mandy. Your first sight of real time travel," the Doctor called to me.

And so I headed for the door that would lead me into the city of Albion, the Doctor's coat still draped over my shoulders. Martha, Amy, Rory, Donna, Jack, and River followed close behind me. What was on the other side of those doors?

I didn't know. But I was willing to find out.


	10. Complications

**Author's Note: THIS CHAPTER WILL BE UPDATED SOON… you can of course continue reading if you wish, but eventually you'll want to come back and REREAD it because there may be some drastic changes in the chapter. Fair warning. As much as it may suck you may want to hold off and read more later. Don't worry, the update is scheduled for release by 5/11/13.**

**XXXMANDYXXX**

When I stepped out of the TARDIS I thought my eyes would fall from my head. Before us a river halved a valley that cupped a walled city and more houses than I could count. At the heart of the valley three bridges linked the northern and southern banks, and roads entered the city from every angle. In the west, the city broke through its wall to climb a long slope dotted with estates and temples.

Above everything stood a huge castle shielded by high walls. Its towers, flying brightly colored flags, shone in the afternoon sun. A small dome placed among them glowed silver like a giant pearl. Black dots like ants climbed a broad, white-paved road from the city below, to scatter before the walls and stream in through several gates.

Our road took us around the city until we reached a bridge over a deep moat. Here the palace wall was only ten feet high; the gate was a simple affair of wood and iron. Inside lay a small town, its air scented with molten copper, pine, cows, and baking.

"All this," the Doctor said, "supports the palace."

I shook my head in awe. I turned to glance at the others and was glad that I wasn't the only one overwhelmed with the sight.

"Come on. Gape later, we've got a job to do," River said stepping past us holding some gadget in the air and reading its screen.

We followed her and the other Doctor through the gate's inner yard. There I saw even more wonders. Around us soared the levels of the palace, with wings and turrets in many styles telling of additions over time. I saw more glass in a look that I'd seen in my life. My nose smelled flowers, both plain and exotic; my ears were filled with creaking wagons, shouting people, and the clang of metal.

My first concern, upon staring at the people around us, was that we'd draw attention to ourselves. These people were dressed in appropriate attire for the time. Women in petticoats and full dresses of lace and ribbon. I looked down at my own clothes and shook my head. _To these aristocrats I must look naked_, I thought tugging at my short skirt.

Women passed by in hundreds of fashions and I wished I could own just one of those magnificent dresses. I'd always adored the 18th century fashions. A group of ladies stopped talking and turned to stare at our group as we passed. Nervously, I made my way between the two Doctors as they're discussion turned to lodging and the trip to an island.

"Doctor—"

"Yes?" They both answered before turning to look at each other.

I stared back and forth at them, smiling slightly. This was going to be rather difficult with two Doctors answering to the same name. They were apparently on the same wavelength because the other Doctor looked at me and smiled.

"I think under the circumstances we will have to go by aliases to avoid confusion. You can call me…" He stopped to think.

"I'll just stick with John Smith. Been using it for years," the Doctor said.

"Right then, I'll go by Troy. Troy Hansom," the other Doctor said

"I really wish you wouldn't," River sighed. A tone sounded from her hip pocket. She pulled out a small device somewhat like a mobile and she frowned, rolling her eyes. Stopping abruptly she tossed the device over her shoulder. "Your wife is calling."

The other Doctor caught it easily, feigning surprise. He glanced at the screen and tossed it back. "Tell her I'm not here."

"Tell her yourself. She's _your_ other wife."

"If I _tell_ her I'm not here she'll _know_ I'm here. Keep up."

"So who's your wife then?" I asked him.

"She's not my _wife_…" He glanced at his past self. "It wasn't even a real chapel!"

"And yet she _still_ has the certificate…" Amy grumbled.

"And the ring," River added.

"_Who_ does?" I pressed, my curiosity piqued.

"Marilyn Monroe!" Amy and River supplied.

"You've _got_ to be kidding me," the Doctor said to him. "You—I—_we _know better than that!"

"Speak for yourself. Elizabeth still isn't speaking to us you know," he countered.

"Wait, Elizabeth? Elizabeth who?" I asked as I walked between River and Amy.

"Elizabeth the first. Apparently they were engaged. He left her stranded on a hillside waiting for him to come back so they could run away together," Amy told me. "Learned the story from his evil self a while back. Apparently he has a _bit_ of a thing for redheads."

River rolled her eyes as Amy mocked the other Doctor with a flutter of her eyelashes. The other Doctor glared at them.

"He made a big mess of things for himself with _that_ one. I should have shot him on the spot when I found out. To think! Ditching the Virgin Queen—not that she has _that_ title anymore—I'm tempted to shoot _you_ just to prevent it!" River glared at the Doctor.

The Doctor opened and shut his mouth like a fish. I was sure he'd be going into antiepileptic shock any second now. The other Doctor pulled away from us, taking his opportunity to avoid being the one criticized for once. I was sure he'd been chewed out numerous times for that one.

"I—I—I have done absolutely _nothing_ with Queen Elizabeth the first! I have barely met her! We were in a bit of a hurry…"

"Yeah," Martha said sarcastically. "Because as soon as she saw you it was 'off with his head'. No wonder she called you pernicious!"

"Don't _help_ them!" the Doctor whined.

"Hey, I didn't piss off the queen," Martha pointed out, hands in the air.

"Yes, well. I haven't either. I can't be blamed for something I haven't done yet. Yell at him." The Doctor pointed at his future self. "Besides I very much prefer…"

"Oh, yes. Do tell us what you prefer," River said sarcastically.

"Blondes?" Martha sarcastically asked.

"Redheads?" Amy added with a mischievous grin.

"Yeah, _John_. What tickles your fancy?" Donna teased.

"You know what? I don't have to talk about this!" The Doctor said walking away from us.

"It's got to be blondes," Martha continued loudly. "Remember Rose?"

"Don't forget Madame de Pompadour," Jack chimed in, nudging a laughing Rory who was enjoying learning his Doctor's dirty little secrets. "Rose had a real tantrum about that one."

I kind of felt sorry for the Doctors. They were slowly turning a shade of pink. It must be hard getting ganged up on by so many people that know so much about him. I had the same problem with my own friends.

"River is blonde," Amy pointed out.

River grinned as she typed something into her gadget, pretending not to take notice of the other Doctors glare. Donna hip-bumped me with a mischievous grin.

"And Mandy here is blonde. He helped her regenerate so she must have become what he liked," she said.

I felt the flush in my face and stared at her in open-mouthed horror. Why, oh why, did I have to be dragged into this? It was bad enough I felt like a cat too close to catnip. Every breathe I wanted to pounce them like my favorite toy.

"Enough!" the other Doctor snapped. "We're here to save people from evil vampires with wings not natter about my love affairs!"

I shifted nervously avoiding both Doctors' gazes as I pretended to have a hair on my shirt. Thankfully River's device beeped a sinister noise and she tossed it to the other Doctor who caught it one handed. He scanned it with a frown before handing it back warily, subject apparently forgotten.

"There are serious spikes in this area," he said thoughtfully. "There's definitely been some space hopping around here."

The others passed by us, Amy clinging to Rory's hand. Standing again between both Doctors I forced my red face to cool.

"Listen…" the other Doctor started to say.

"Nope—" I interrupted him. "None of my business. I'm just—"

I was interrupted by the loud passing of large armored horses and an ornate carriage. A woman's voice called out, halting the procession almost immediately.

Our group stared in surprise as a soldier dismounted and opened the carriage door, offering his hand to the woman inside. When a head of curly blonde hair peeked out of the dark carriage the other Doctor immediately bowed with a smile on his face. The young woman smiled with a glint of mischief in her bright blue eyes. Her blonde hair was piled atop her head, frozen in place by hundreds of sparkling gemstones.

Her beautiful gown was bright yellow muslin. The dress had a narrow, boned, open bodice, the front filled with a richly decorated stomacher. The enormous open skirt was cut to fit the shape of the hooped under skirt. The tight fitting sleeves ended at the elbow in a falling flared cuff, longer at the back than the front. It was a beautiful sight inlaid with jewels, ribbons, and lace. It was a masterpiece in and of itself.

She stepped gracefully toward us as if she were merely walking on air. She stopped a few feet in front of us and smiled politely as she looked us all over. I knew she was royalty.

"So we meet again, Hansom," the young woman said charmingly. "And always at the oddest of times."

"You're Majesty," the other Doctor said happily. "Please excuse my discourtesy but what has brought you from your royal court all the way to Albion?"

"Oh, Troy! Such formality for an old acquaintance. Surely things have not changed so much from when I was a girl. Although I see you have not aged a day since our last meeting. I find this rather advantageous of course."

He laughed and kissed her offered hand politely, ignoring the glares from Amy and River.

"Blimey. Look at you! I've really been away haven't I?"

"Indeed. I find that most discourteous of you."

"I'll have to make it up to you."

"Fret not, when the king's away his queen may play," the young woman said with a smile.

"Oh, you were always a lively child. Toinette allow me to introduce my friends; Amy Pond, her husband Rory, Miranda Tate…"

The woman glanced at me as she cut the other Doctor off with a wave of her hand. She looked us over quietly and then smiled. "I'm sure I'll learn who you all are in time. I certainly won't remember now."

All of us, except the Doctor, stared at this woman wondering who she was. The other Doctor noticed our confusion and cleared his throat. "Right, allow me to introduce her Majesty, Queen of France, Maria Antonia Josepha Joanna. Formally known as Marie Antoinette."

We all stumbled to bow or curtsy in an appropriate manner and I was sure we looked quite ridiculous. I stared transfixed. I'd always loved Marie Antoinette. I'd read many books on her in the past few years and thought she was the most interesting. I couldn't believe I was meeting her in person.

As she turned to the other Doctor I noticed the well concealed bump of her belly. She was pregnant!

"She's blonde too," Donna murmured under her breath and we giggled.

The Doctor glared at us before stepping forward to offer her his hand and a dazzling smile. "You're Majesty. It is an honor to meet you," he said, kissing her hand.

She looked him over with obvious interest and I felt a hint of jealousy bubble in my stomach. She exchanged words with the two of them before suddenly turning towards us again.

"Are you unable to afford the necessary fabrics to cloth yourselves? You must be quite chilled in this air," she said to Amy and me.

We glanced at our skirts and shifted awkwardly.

"Something like that," Amy offered.

"And you," the queen said turning to River, Donna, and Martha. "Donning men's clothing as if it were completely natural. I've never seen such preposterous fittings upon a lady."

"Our apologies, your Majesty! We meant not to offend your integrity," Martha said quickly.

"It's my fault entirely," the other Doctor said drawing her attention. "I hadn't prepared them for our trip. It was very short notice."

The queen turned to him adoringly. "_That_ I believe. It seemed you were always causing trouble in our court. Though I must say, I don't particularly mind the excitement of your visits. I shall just have to make up for your thoughtlessness."

She turned abruptly back to the carriage and the guard helped her back inside. She leaned back out slightly.

"You shall all be guests of my welcome at the court of Albion. We will see to it you are properly clothed and treated," she said. She summoned a guard forward with the flick of her hand. "Send the royal tailor ahead to prepare fittings and rooms for our guests. Have everything ready upon our arrival. Gaston, we are in need of extra horses, the ladies will join me in my carriage."

"Doctor," River whispered to the other Doctor. "What about these readings? The vampires…"

"Will have to wait a little longer," he told her quietly. "We may need higher connections to get where we're going."

"Come," the queen called to us. "It's been a long journey and my bath awaits."

We knew, from the tone of her voice, that it wasn't offer. It was an order. I approached the large carriage feeling awkward and uneasy. I'd never traveled in time before. I didn't know the etiquette.

A soldier brought four horses for the men to mount and River rested a hand on my shoulder. The other girls piled into the carriage to join the queen.

"First time travelling?" She asked. I nodded. "Don't worry. Just be yourself. If trouble starts we'll get you out of it."

I turned to thank her but she got into the carriage before I could. With a soldiers help I climbed into the carriage taking the seat closest to the door. The soldier latched the door and the carriage lurched forward. It was quiet for a long minute but for the sound of hooves and rocks grinding under the wheels of the carriage. Eventually the queen turned to take us all in.

"Pardon my memory, what did Troy say your name was?" the queen asked me.

I cleared my throat nervously. "Umm, Miranda. If it pleases her Majesty. Miranda Tate."

"Miranda Tate," she repeated thoughtfully. "Do you sing by any chance?"

I stared at her and then realising I was being rude nodded. "Sort of, I mean, yes!"

Antoinette snapped her fingers. "It _is_ you. You're the one he told me about ages ago. He said you had a lovely voice. He very much adored you. It seems you two have made amends then?"

I looked at the other women in the carriage not knowing what she was talking about. Everyone except River seemed as clueless as I was.

"I'm not sure…"

"I'm glad everything turned out. He was most disheartened with the terms in which you last parted. He didn't elaborate but he very much wished he could have gone back and done what he did differently. He stayed with us many days speaking of nothing but you and how you'd have loved the Versailles Palace."

I shifted awkwardly and River purposefully avoided eye contact with me. I could tell she knew exactly what the queen was talking about. I wanted to ask her but a part of me didn't want to know. Thankfully Amy sensed our discomfort and changed the subject.

"Your Majesty I adore your polonaise!"

The queen merely glanced at her gown with a polite smile. "Thank you. It is one of my favorites." She turned back to me. "I sense that my words have discomforted you. Do you not know of what I speak?"

Change of subject? No such luck.

I shook my head. "I'm sorry, I really don't."

The queen watched me carefully and then sighed. "No, it is I that should apologise. Troy explained to me years ago that sometimes things that he speaks of don't happen in the same order as they do for me. I suppose I've broken one of his taboos. Forgive me for my thoughtlessness."

"How much does… _Troy_ tell you?" River asked.

The queen stared at her for a minute and then diverted her attention to something out the window. She smoothed her skirts deliberately biding her time before she answered.

"Troy has shared many stories with me in my time. He's spent many a fortnight teaching me of other worlds. And yet, though he speaks, I sometimes feel he is never truly saying anything."

"Tell me about it," Martha and Amy said at the same time.

"How did you meet Troy then?" Donna asked her.

"I was out riding horses with my younger brother Max and his strange blue box materialized in the middle of our trail. It was so sudden that it spooked my horse and she fled with me clinging to her reins. Of course it was spring and the ground was still very wet from the thaw and I ended up drenched in mud from head to toe."

"So what'd he do?"

"What any gentleman would do. He offered me his handkerchief and helped me home to explain to my maman why I was in such a state and offered to cover the cost of the gown," she told us. "Maman was livid. And she was not impressed with him at all. He was quite a sight dressed in torn clothes and covered in dust and smoke residue. I on the other hand thought he was most interesting. All crazy hair and boyish grins."

We smiled understanding completely. Slowly our chatter turned into an awkward silence and I started to braid my hair, desperate for anything to do in such a small space.

"I sense there is some tension among the five of you," the queen said at last.

I doubted seriously this woman could sense anything except a cheat in a good game of cards. She was well known for her frivolity and her ridiculous spending. She'd become known as Madame Deficit for all her spending and gambling which would eventually lead to her beheading in 1793. Which now made me wonder…

"Forgive my inanity your Majesty…" I started to say hoping to change the subject.

"Oh, please. You are guests of the Royal Court of Versailles and friends of Troy Hansom and therefore friends of mine. You may call me Antonia," she stated.

"Alright, Antonia. What day is it?" I asked.

She looked at me strangely and then looked at the others to see they also awaited an answer. She shook her head slightly.

"Troy never seemed to have a sense of time either," she stated. "It is January 12, 1777."

I smiled and laughed. The others looked at me questioningly.

"What?" Amy asked confused.

"I believe technically tomorrow would be my birthday," I told them.

The queen perked up at this.

"How marvelous, we must celebrate! Birthdays come only once a year," she said. "It would be a shame not to give you a grand party. How old shall you be?"

"I suppose twenty-two."

"You are quite a few months older than I," she told me." I shall be twenty-two this November the second."

"Antonia, have you heard of anything strange happening here in Albion?" River asked her.

We waited for her answer as she merely looked at us in confusion.

"Strange? Strange how?"

"Strange as in ships being attacked or children going missing," Martha offered.

"I've only just arrived in Albion myself. But I've heard the ships are merely rumors, ghost stories to scare the children and keep them in their beds at night," she said with a wave of her hand.

"But what if they aren't…" Donna asked.

The carriage lurched to a stop and the footman opened the door and held his hand out to the queen. "We have arrived at the Londinium Royal Court your Majesty," he said.

"Wonderful. Come ladies, we shall fit you properly for the Royal Court."

Outside of the carriage we were greeted by the other Doctor who was looking quite tense. "Everything fine then?" he asked.

"Of course," the queen said. "It was a short ride after all."

The other Doctor looked slightly relieved. River on the other hand looked a bit cross with him. He caught the look but ignored it purposely. We were led up the grand steps into the castle and I was awestruck with everything I saw.

Jack and the queen were flirting outrageously while Martha and Donna were as enthralled with the architecture and furnishings as much I was. The tapestries, portraits, vases, rugs; everything was beautifully designed and carefully placed. I felt a hand slide onto my elbow and I looked up into the Doctor's face.

"What happened in there?"

"Nothing, why?" I asked confused.

"River seems a bit cross with," the Doctor pointed towards his future self. "Me."

I glanced at the two of them and did notice that there was a sort of tension between them. I couldn't help but think it had to do with what the queen had said. I wasn't sure I had the right to say anything.

Although I was never fully trained as a Time Lady before I left Gallifrey I _was_ taught that we must never cross into established events nor should we go back inside our own timelines. Knowing our own futures could cause us to attempt to change the outcome. Bad things could happen if we did either; the changing of history would be the least of our worries if we did.

"Doc…"

"John. You'll have to start calling me John as long as we're here."

"Right, John. Sorry. I'm not sure it'd be a good idea…"

"Just tell me," he said stopping me. "I know full well the risks of knowing my future. I've been doing this longer than you can imagine."

I didn't doubt this but his tone of voice struck a nerve. We'd slowed to a steady pace and our group was slowly pulling away from us. I turned to him, refusing to lower my gaze and met him full on.

"You underestimate my intelligence. I may not have all the training you do, nor the experiences but I know the risks. And I know that what was discussed in the carriage is between the six of us."

"You know I'm the one with a TARDIS. I could easily drop you on the moon and leave you there," he threatened.

"Oh, please. You wouldn't even have had that TARDIS if you hadn't stolen it." He looked at me surprised. "Yes, I know you stole it. I was little when I overheard them talking about 'The Doctor' and the missing TARDIS. They said you were trying to run away from your destiny."

It was strange the things that I was remembering from so long ago. They almost felt like the memories of someone else, but then, I supposed I had been someone else way back then.

"I may have been just a child but you and I know that even as children we are aware of what is happening around us, we are clever and attentive. I was only seven when you returned to Gallifrey and then off you went again. Mother was in quite a fit but she said to let you go. That there are times we all run from what we know we cannot change."

"What I don't understand is how you remember all this," he said. "Or how you even learned of it. You were a child."

"But I was the _queen's_ child. Anywhere she went I wasn't far behind. Every meeting, every council, and every dinner I was drug along with her. I suppose I'd just been too young to think anything of what I was hearing."

"Alright, fine. But I still would like to know what was discussed while you were in there."

"I can't tell you. It isn't right."

"That isn't for you to decide. It's my life, my choice."

"If you insist you want to know. I'll tell you," I said quietly and then paused as the other Doctor turned to look back at us as he joined the queen to discuss something. "Our conversation was a simple one, rather vague. But we both know the simplest of things can make the biggest of differences."

He walked quietly beside me as we kept a safe distance from our group. I assumed it had been a long time since someone had denied him what he wanted. Although, with Donnas personality I bet she could give him a run for his money on occasion. I'd seen a bit of it already. Should I dare to be as assertive as she could be with him?

He was a Time Lord, the only one, there had been no one to protest or question his actions or decisions for hundreds of years. He was over nine hundred years old, I was only a teenager to him; and despite this fact I was, biologically, his queen. He knew that should I order something he would have to concede. It was the law of Gallifrey, a law even he could not disobey; now or ever.

The question was, would I enforce such a law considering he was stronger, smarter, and more adept at being a Time Lord? Despite my rank, I doubted I would. But we'd see how long my front would hold up.

"If it was so simple just tell me what was discussed in the carriage," he said.

"Fine, we discussed you for the most part…"

"That I figured," he said exasperatedly. "And?"

I smiled in spite of my being annoyed with him. I knew I didn't have to tell him, that probably I shouldn't, but he had lived hundreds of years. He had earned the right to make this decision; he knew the risks. I'd just have to hope I wouldn't regret telling him later.

"Well, apparently you trust her quite a bit in the future because she knows quite a bit about you. I think this just made River a bit jealous. She's competition in a way. And, well, someone as beautiful as she is it's not a wonder River would feel threatened."

"That's ridiculous! Why would I like her? Sure she's very attractive but she has the worst morals!"

"Well, you've apparently taken the time to explain to her the fact that you time travel, the fact that you never do things in proper order, and you've explained to her the laws of traveling and what is not allowed."

"Why would I do that?" the Doctor asked me. I looked at him out of the corner of my eye and didn't answer. "Forget it. What else did she say?"

"Oh, not much. She just told us how well the two of you get along and how you two met." I looked away from him quickly, hoping he would accept the lie. I mean, technically she did say that. But that wasn't _all_ she said.

The queen's ladies-in-waiting led the queen away from our group. We were being led towards a different hallway and I saw the Doctor look at me from the corner of my eye. I felt him place his hand at my elbow again to slow me down.

"There's more isn't there?" he asked.

I didn't say anything. I listened to the gentleman leading us down the hall instead. It was better than having to tell him the first part of the Queen's conversation. "These are the royal guest's quarters. You each shall have your own room and there will be a servant available at all times to get you whatever you need," the man said.

"Thank you, we can take it from here," the other Doctor told him.

The man bowed to us and then wandered back down the hall. Amy peeked in a room with her name on it and smiled.

"King sized beds! Rory no more bunk beds," she exclaimed.

"Finally!" he sighed relieved.

"What's wrong with bunk beds? Bunk beds are cool! Beds! With a ladder!" the other Doctor pointed out.

"We know!" They said in unison.

They both ducked into the room and shut the door. Amy popped her head back out giving the other Doctor a sardonic look. "And _you_! Knock first this time, yeah?" Amy suggested to him.

"Right, learned my lesson! Knocking first," he agreed.

She shut her door again while River glared at him, shaking her head in annoyance. "You are impossible!" She marched into the bedroom on the left leaving him behind.

"Oh, what's this all about then? You've been ever so cross with me since you got out of that carriage!" he hollered following River through the bedroom door and shutting it behind him.

Donna's eyebrows rose. "_Well_, guess that's a spoiler for you, eh skinny boy!" she teased the Doctor using the term River favored.

"_Nooow_, don't!" he said pointing a warning finger at her.

She grinned like a fox and then headed for an open door. She winked at Jack on her way by.

"Guess I'll just have a peek then, yeah?" she said ducking into the room.

River's door opened again and a servant woman came out closing the door behind her. She turned and stared at us in surprise.

"My apologies, can I help you with something?" she asked with a curtsey.

"Is there a servant in every room?" Martha asked.

"Yes, we were instructed to draw baths and fill the wardrobes with clothing for the guests."

Another young woman came out of Amy and Rory's room quickly; she was blushing profusely, her freckles prominent against her olive skin. She turned and yelped slightly when she noticed us all. "I beg your pardon," she said curtsying.

"Everything all right?" Jack asked her with a wink. "Jack Harkness by the way."

She looked him over and smiled prettily. She brushed a loose strand of brown hair from her face as she blushed a brighter red.

"Claire, if it pleases. Um, please excuse me. I have chores," she said hurrying away.

"I apologise, Miss Claire is new to the court. I also have chores to tend to. Unless there is something you need?" the other servant woman asked.

"No, carry on," the Doctor told her.

"Very good, monsieur."

"Oi! How did they know what sized clothes to get us?" Donna asked coming out holding a big purple dress in her arms. "And how did they remember our names for the signs?"

"Her Majesty sent her private tailor ahead to give visual measurements. She is well known for being able to know a person's size by sight and that includes a wonderful memory for all things, including names. She travels with her Majesty at all times in case of situations as this," Donna's servant said coming up to stand beside her.

"Very nice," Donna murmured.

"I've drawn a bath for you Lady Donna," the servant girl said.

"Well, then," Donna said waving towards the room. "Lead on!"

We laughed at her as she disappeared behind the bedroom door.

"I guess she'll do just fine here," Martha observed. "I guess I'll go to my room and wash up as well."

"You could always join me. Save on water," Jack teased.

Martha shook a finger at him shaking her head.

"Sorry captain. Not this time," she said and shut her bedroom door.

"Well," Jack said laughing. "I tried."

"A bath sounds wonderful right now," I said. "Excuse me, gentlemen."

"Just a moment? I'd like to have a private word," the Doctor said.

Jack caught the hint and winked at me as he disappeared in another bedroom. I turned to look at the Doctor knowing full well why I had to wait behind. I considered entering my room and shutting the door but I knew that wouldn't stop him. Even if I locked it he had his sonic screwdriver. There wasn't a lock that he couldn't break into.

"I believe there was something else you were going to tell me?"

"I don't think so," I told him. "I've already told you everything."

"You and I both know the Queen said something else, something you obviously don't want me to know. I _want_ to know and I'm asking you to tell me. I could get the information myself if I wanted to," he threatened.

I knew he was talking about mentally invading my mind and reading my thoughts. He could find out anything he wanted to know and I'd be defenseless against him. I didn't have the training to block him out.

"You and I both know that you would never do that without my permission," I called his bluff.

He stared at me intently. "Are you sure you want to gamble the odds of that? We've only just met," he pointed out. "You know nothing about me."

"If you were going to do it you would have, like I said, you wouldn't dare. Besides what else she said doesn't concern you."

"Fine, look me in the eye and tell me whatever it is didn't have anything to do with me," he said staring at me.

I met his eyes but didn't say a word. If there's one thing Time Lords don't do its lie to each other, under any circumstance, well not usually anyways... He nodded his head and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Out with it," he ordered.

"Why does it matter so much?" I asked irritably.

We heard the sound of something smashing in River and the Doctor's room and we stared at the door startled.

"Because sometimes we _need_ to know what we shouldn't. Sometimes things _can_ be different if we're given the chance to make the _right_ choice. I've made a lot of stupid choices while on my own. I'd like to avoid at least a couple more in the future. Before I get _there_," he said pointing a thumb at the door.

"You could change the future, _your_ future, and you know you can't take that risk."

"The future is always changing. I'd just like as much of a heads up as possible."

"She really said nothing important. The queen merely said you used to talk about me when you were with her, that's all."

I turned to the bedroom door on my right seeking an escape. As I reached for the door handle he stepped in front of me easily and blocked my path. I looked up at him, he wasn't letting this go. More than a whole foot taller than me I found his intense stare rather intimidating.

"I know there's more because it's written all over your face."

"Doctor…"

He bent over so he was eye level with me.

"Please…" he said.

I looked into his eyes, his deep orbs swirling with intensity and determination. I sighed. I really didn't want to tell him and I really didn't want to think about it. Not only would I have to think about it I'd now always wonder what it was that'd happen… and when it'd happen. I tried to find the right way to phrase what I was being forced to tell him.

"Okay, she said you described me affectionately and eventually told her that something happened causing us to go separate ways and that you regretted whatever it was you did and that you missed me terribly and wished you could take it back," I said in a breathless rush, attempting to be out with it as fast as possible. "So if you could just let me in my room now!" I said and rushed around him, opening and shutting my bedroom door in hope of escaping his stare.

**DW TTWT DW TTWT DW TTWT DW TTWT DW TTWT DW TTWT DW TTWT DW TTWT**


	11. Chapter 11 being revised

**Author's Note: THIS CHAPTER WILL BE UPDATED SOON… you can of course continue reading if you wish, but eventually you'll want to come back and REREAD it because there may be some drastic changes in the chapter. Fair warning. As much as it may suck you may want to hold off and read more later. Don't worry, the update is scheduled for release by 5/18/13.**

**XXXXXXCHAPTERELEVENXXXXXX**

**XXXMANDYXXX**

Leaning against the door I took a deep breath. I didn't hear him move for a minute or two but then I heard the door across the hall snap shut. I sighed relieved. Apparently he was now satisfied with my answer. I heard someone clear their throat and I looked up startled. It was another servant and I smiled at her.

"I'm sorry. I forgot that we each had a servant tending to us. Have you been waiting?"

"Yes, milady. I've kept the bath warm milady. Or I could get you some tea if it pleases…"

"Both sound great, thank you."

She smiled politely and curtsied before leading me into the bath. The room was large and the bath could hold eight people easily. I took a deep breath and could smell something sweet in the air.

"What do I smell?" I asked her.

"That is the bath oil. It is an oil made from snapdragon flowers."

"Nice," I told her.

She stood there waiting for something and I finally turned to look at her.

"Is there a problem?"

"You are supposed to undress and give me your clothes milady," she said.

"Oh…"

I undressed slowly feeling awkward. I removed my panties carefully so as not to display myself any more than necessary and handed them to the girl.

"Would you like your tea during or after your bath milady?"

"After I think."

"Very good, I'll be back with your wardrobe book and you can choose your evening gown."

"Alright, thank you," I called after her.

The bathroom door snapped shut and I turned to the steaming bath. I dipped one toe in to test the water. I lowered myself in cautiously and sighed. The water felt amazing; I considered a nap but decided I'd probably drown. I found glass bottles filled with soaps and hoped I'd use the right one.

I washed and rinsed my hair and then I scrubbed myself thoroughly and as the water began to cool I heard a knock on the bathroom door.

"Who is it?"

"It's me, milady. I've brought you a wardrobe book. Her Majesty would like you to pick something from this one specifically."

"Come on in."

She entered with a large leather-bound book and lowered herself to her knees placing the book in her lap so I was able to read it.

"You don't have to sit on the floor, you'll get wet," I said.

"It is our duty, milady. Here," she said flipping the book open. "What color would you like?"

I looked at the two large pages. They had small samples of different fabric in different colors. I pointed at a color, careful not to splash water. She flipped a large bunch of pages and illustrations of different gowns covered the pages.

"Just pick one out milady and I'll get it for you."

She flipped the pages for me as I asked her to and I found it difficult to choose just one. When she turned the page again I knew instantly what I wanted to wear.

"That one!" I said happily. "It's beautiful!"

"It is, very nice choice milady. I'll get it for you now," she got up off the floor, her skirts sopping wet.

She sat the book down on a table and walked over to a tall armoire and retrieved a large towel. She brought it over holding it open. I realised she was waiting for me to get out and I did so. She wrapped the towel around me and began to dry me off.

"Umm, that's alright," I said embarrassed, "I can do it myself."

She looked slightly confused but she let me hold the towel to myself and she left to go get my dress. I dried myself off thoroughly and then noticed a screen across the room. I stepped behind it and draped the towel over the top to dry.

I heard the knock on my door again and called for her enter.

"I brought you all your garments," she said on the other side of the screen.

I peeked around it, feeling silly after she'd already watched me undress. I saw she had many items and wasn't sure where to start.

"I believe I may need your help with this part." I admitted.

She smiled happy to be allowed to help. She handed me a new pair of underwear and a strapless bra. I slipped them on and came around the screen. I was much more comfortable covered up this much. She handed me some stockings and I slid them on as well. She then helped me into a ground length pleated petticoat. She fastened the back of it for me.

She then handed me the beautiful gown I'd picked out. It was a beautiful shade of silver and had a black swirling pattern printed on it. She helped me into it adjusting, tucking, pinning, and draping different parts of it. She put a high, broad curved belt around my waist and fastened it. Looking in the mirror I saw it accentuated my breasts and stomach.

My breasts and shoulders were revealed by the low and wide neckline forming a deep V at the back and the front. My waistline was high and restricted by the wide stiffened belt. The gown was lined throughout and trimmed with black fur, much to my distaste; I hated the idea of wearing an animal. The black skirts, separate and attached to the waistline, were cut circular to develop into a train at the back. The long sleeves were tight and folded back to form a cuff.

I smiled as she led me out of the bathroom. I noticed how the dress floated behind me, making me look like I was walking on air. She had me sit in front of a vanity and she pulled out a tray of powders and liquids.

"If you'd like I can do your face and hair milady."

"Go ahead," I told her. "I feel over pampered."

"Oh, her Majesty sent these along for you to wear."

The woman lifted a box from the vanity and opened it. My breath caught as I saw the glittering necklace and earring set.

She carefully lifted the silver enameled and sapphire jeweled collarette with the large diamond pendant and fastened it around my neck. I lifted the earrings one at a time and placed them in my ears. Looking in the mirror all I could do was stare. It was like looking at someone else. I didn't recognise myself and it was a strange feeling, not unpleasant, just weird.

"Milady?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah?" I asked looking at her.

"If we're to have you ready for your party we must finish your hair and face soon," she said.

"Wait. What party?"

"Her Majesty has informed the court that we will be celebrating Lady Miranda's day of birth."

"But it's technically not until tomorrow. I certainly don't think it's worthy of a large party," I said.

"Her Majesty loves any excuse for a formal event," the servant admitted. "If not for you then she'd have found another reason for tonight's affair. As it is the kitchens are most busy preparing a lovely cake for you."

I gaped at her in horror. Oh, I hated parties. Correction, I loved parties but I hated parties that I was the main attraction of. I'd rather fade into the background having a good time instead of being the center of attention for the evening. I sighed and shook my head remembering how much I'd read of Marie Antoinette's life. She was a party girl for sure.

"Alright," I said, "I suppose we should get done then. I'd hate to be beheaded for being late to a party."

She ignored my statement and began using different brushes and devices to curl and pin my hair into a beautiful loose updo. She then used dozens of powders and liquids on my face. She used a brush to apply a final swipe of mascara and stepped back to look me over.

"Are you pleased milady?" she asked.

I looked closely at my face. I had a light shade of blue on my eyes and my lashes were long, black, and thick. I looked like a doll with my porcelain skin, pale lips, and big decorated eyes.

"You've done a fantastic job," I told her meaning it.

She put the makeup tray away and folded her hands in front of her. Someone knocked on the door and my servant woman went to it to open the door. When she opened it a man in servant's attire was waiting.

"Her Majesty has asked her guests to join her in the royal dining hall," the man said. "You're friends are waiting here in the hall for you."

The servant woman smiled at me and held the door open.

"I'm sorry we never got to your tea, milady," she apologised. "But here are your shoes."

She handed me a pair of black flats soft and supple and I slid them on.

"It's fine. If you're still here when I come back we can sit and have some then," I told her.

"Yes, milady."

I smoothed the gown after I stood up and looked at myself in the mirror again, I felt my ego explode and tried to stamp down the level of my vanity. I looked beautiful and very much like an aristocratic lady. Honestly, I wasn't usually this self-absorbed but apparently being pampered this much was bad for me.

I walked across the room nervously though. I wasn't sure what I'd look like compared to the others. What if they were just wearing what we'd arrived in? But my fears were quelled as I stepped into the hall and found Donna and Martha outside my door. They were also wearing dresses. They also had had their hair and faces done. Donna was wearing a soft lilac dress that accentuated all her perfect curves. Martha was wearing a brilliant shade of yellow that accentuated her skin beautifully.

"You look amazing!" Donna said looking me over.

"Thanks," I said happily, "you too!"

"I feel like we're playing dress up," Martha admitted looking at her dress.

"Yeah, but you look good. Yellow is a good color on you," I told her.

Amy and River joined us and I smiled at them. River was wearing an emerald dress and Amy was wearing a dress in a brilliant shade of blue. We stood there silently looking each other over when we heard the men join us.

"I didn't see that dress in the closet," Amy said to me.

"Oh, I didn't actually look. My…servant brought me a book," I realized I'd never even asked the girl's name.

"Toinette gave you one of her books?"

I turned to see the Next Doctor coming from down the hall. He was wearing a handsomely tailored black suit and accessorized with a top hat and bow tie. The Doctor was close behind him in an attractive white suit and red tie with matching red converse.

"I guess so; my servant did mention something about her requesting that book specifically."

"Oh, she must _like_ you!" The Next Doctor exclaimed. "I'd say that dress is worth at least a thousand quid."

The girls stared at my dress in awe and I felt myself blush. I ran my hands over it delicately and looked the other girls' dresses over. Why would I be the only one chosen to wear a 'special' dress? I adjusted the belt nervously and was thankful when the attention was pulled away from me.

"Bow ties… Seriously?" I heard the Doctor ask.

"Yeah, so? Bow ties are cool," I heard the Next Doctor respond.

"Oh, Rassilon," the Doctor muttered while Amy cracked up.

Rory and Jack came out of Jack's room and joined us in the hall. We looked them over and they were dressed as immaculately as the Doctors. It was like living in a fairy tale story. They were dressed like princes, all top hats and silk handkerchiefs. I avoided the Doctor's eye and smiled at Jack as he looked us all over.

"Ladies! You look beautiful," he said bowing dramatically.

"If you are all together I can show you to the banquet hall," a manservant said drawing our attention.

"Please do," the Next Doctor said cheerily.

He offered his arm to River who smiled adoringly at him and took it. Rory followed suit and offered his arm to Amy awkwardly. She laughed and took it, her red hair floating around her in curls as they walked away. We followed after them as I listened to the other four discuss what they'd been doing in the time we were all separate.

"Got a fix on where the cargo ships have been going down," Jack said.

"Is it really the vampires, or faeries, or whatever doing it?" Donna asked.

"It seems so. There's only been one survivor and he's been mute ever since the attack. He won't say a word," the Doctor said.

"I've seen faeries before, Doc. These aren't it. They aren't the same species at all," Jack told him.

"No they aren't," the Doctor agreed.

"So what do we do then? How do we stop them?" Martha asked him.

"First we have to find a way to the island. We'll need a ferry or an airship."

"How do we go about getting one of those?" Donna asked. "Sonic paper?"

The Doctor grinned and winked.

"I'm sure it will help in the process of retrieving one. But Troy up there thinks he can come up with transport by talking with the Queen."

"Troy?" I asked confused.

"Remember? I'm John, he's Troy."

Suddenly our earlier conversation came back to me and I nodded.

"Sorry, forgot. Troy… It's a wretched title," I said.

"Agreed."

"Be thankful you have plenty of years to think up a different one for yourself."

He laughed and Martha wrapped her arm around mine pulling me forward out of hearing shot.

"What happened earlier?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"The Doctor seemed," Martha paused trying to find the right word, "troubled earlier. He came to sit with me while one of the servants did my hair. He was oddly quiet and when he was talking it was halfheartedly and he seemed distracted. He wouldn't say what was bothering him but when I asked Jack if he knew what was up he said he didn't know anything except the Doctor had wanted to be left alone with you."

I stared at her startled. My mouth moved, trying to make a sound but failing miserably, I shut it again. I hadn't thought about the fact that if something happened with him all his companions would notice. I should have known. When you are with someone for a long time you become tuned to them.

"Sorry," Martha said, "I'm not trying to be nosy. I was just concerned. He's not usually like that is all. If something bothers him he brushes it off with a shrug of his shoulders and covers it up with all smiles and ridiculous rambling about places he has to show me."

I looked at her again and noticed just how beautiful she was. I couldn't understand how the Doctor could never have felt anything for her in the year they'd travelled. She seemed kind hearted and fun. I realized I was being rude and I focused on her last statement. I knew telling the Doctor what the Queen had said was a bad idea.

"He insisted I tell him the entire conversation from in the carriage. I tried to avoid it and give him half answers but he wouldn't let me go unless I told him."

"Yeah, when he wants something he doesn't back down until he gets it. It's not exactly a good thing in some cases. So what did you say exactly?"

"I told him the truth. That mostly the Queen did the talking and that she knew him well, or seemed to. But then I guess he knew I wasn't telling him everything and blocked me from my room until I told him."

Martha thought about that and her eyes widened. She looked at me sympathetically.

"You told him the Queen said you'd leave him," she said.

I nodded and looked at the floor ahead of me.

"No wonder he was a bit off. He's lost so many people in his life. He hates knowing his future, especially if it involves losing people, whether he's attached to them or not. He's had a wretched couple years," Martha said sadly.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"There was a girl, Rose; she was one of his companions for quite a while. She met him during his ninth incarnation. She was with him when he regenerated into, well, the him now. She'd fallen in love with him and on top of that he fell head over heels for her as well. But when she got stuck in a parallel universe that was it for them. And he's never really moved past that…" she said quietly peering over her shoulder to be sure they were still having a private conversation.

She didn't have to worry. Donna and the Doctor were arguing over something and Jack was adding little comments here and there to keep the fire going. Martha smiled at them in spite of the not-so-happy subject we were discussing.

"So what happened?" I asked.

"After Rose left he met Donna. Did he tell you how he met Donna?" she asked me.

"Yes and how he met you," I admitted.

"Well, Donna refused to go with him at first; she told me it was because he scared the hell out of her. Then I met the Doctor in the hospital. Later that night he invited me to go with him for 'a trip' and we travelled for a year, just the two of us. But when he and I were travelling we came across another Time Lord in the future. He travelled back in time and became Britain's Prime Minister. He did terrible things to the Doctor and to the world. He was a sick man. He held the Doctor hostage, caged and chained like an animal… for a year! I travelled alone for that whole year and I did it by his request, did you know that?" she asked.

I shook my head following her every word.

"A year, alone, travelling in a world of open warfare and people dying everywhere. The only thing I had to keep me going was my hope of saving the Doctor and my family… and, I suppose, my love for him, which only grew stronger every day I travelled. I told everyone I met all about him; the Doctor and his magic box, saving our world without us even knowing he was doing it. Gone without asking for a single thank-you," Martha smiled sadly as she drifted off a bit as if remembering.

I heard the sadness and the pure devotion in her words. I looked around me as I wondered how far the banquet hall actually was. We seemed to be walking a lot.

"Anyways," Martha said continuing, "the Time Lord, he was called the Master, and he was shot. He refused to regenerate, purposely denying the Doctor someone of his own kind to love and care for. The only connection to his home and he lost it over a bullet. Then I left, after admitting that I was in love with him. God that was the longest couple minutes of my life. I could tell it hurt him to see me walk away but I just couldn't do it anymore. Then he began travelling with Donna. He's so much better now, she makes him better."

I glanced back at Donna who was still holding her own in whatever debate she was having with the Doctor. Jack seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself standing between them. I turned to look up ahead of me to see that River and Amy were talking with their respective husbands.

"Donna seems like a wonderful woman," I observed, "and she doesn't seem afraid of him now."

"No, not anymore," Martha agreed. "She's just brilliant. She's been the wall for the Doctor when he's needed one to lean on. But bad things are always happening around him and we were both unable to help him in the last couple travels."

"What do you mean? What happened?" I asked.

"Well, he'd helped save Earth for what I'm sure was the billionth time and we were talking on the TARDIS. Donna had gone home to talk to her granddad and mum, so she could say goodbye and explain to them what she was really doing with the Doctor. But as soon as we were all on the TARDIS together it just got sucked into space and we ended up on another planet. We landed right in the middle of a war between humans and creatures called Hath. They took a tissue sample from the Doctor and genetically created, well, a young woman."

I stared at her in shock. My mouth dropping open in complete surprise.

"That would technically make her…"

"His daughter, yeah. She was a completely unnatural creation and on top of that she was born to fight and use weapons. Completely opposite the Doctor. He'd been a bit cold towards her in the beginning. Acknowledging she was real and nothing more. Donna showed him the truth of her biology though, she had two hearts, and Donna even named the girl Jenny. By the time we left he'd come to accept her and seemed happy to have a daughter to care for. But in the end it hadn't mattered. Jenny had proved too much like and she stepped in front of a bullet in order to save him."

I looked back and Donna and the Doctor were laughing now, argument apparently sorted. I looked at Martha horrified. I'd never have known anything like that had happened to him. He seemed happy, carefree… and yet…

"Did she," I couldn't bring myself to finish that question.

Martha nodded sadly and looked back at the Doctor as well.

"He lost her and then he just did what he always does, tossed his emotions aside and pretended nothing happened."

"How long ago was this?" I asked."That she… died."

"It was over a month ago, for me anyways. But for them… who knows, time travel you know? What's four days for them is an hour for me. It didn't help that right afterwards I returned back home and he and Donna ended up in a library that had Vashta Nerada living in the shadows. That's where he met River for the first time. Unfortunately the first day he met her was also the last day of her life."

My head shot up to look at River.

"Wait if you weren't with them… How do you know all this?" I asked.

"I became the doctor's confidante. By accident I believe. One day he just started talking and all this stuff rushed out before he realized what he was saying. I've listened for him whenever he's needed me too ever since. And Donna quite often needs a female companion as much as the Doctor needs one in general."

"It's probably good he can talk to you. I doubt he'd do so with anyone else, ever."

Martha smiled at me softly, a strange look on her face.

"What?" I asked.

"Maybe someday there will be someone else that can become his confidante. I'm getting married soon," she said lifting her hand to show me her engagement ring, "and that will be the day I won't be able to tend to the Doctor."

I ignored the implication and steered the subject towards safer grounds, safer for me anyways. "So what happened then? At the library?"

"Well the specific details are unknown to me; it's beyond a sensitive subject for both of them. But from what I gathered a computer at the heart of the library saved all the people in it in order to save them from being killed by the Vashta Nerada. Apparently the Doctor had tried to send Donna back to the TARDIS but something happened and the computer ended up saving Donna like all the other humans. He told me it was one of the most saddening moments of his life, thinking he'd lost Donna, and in his opinion it had been his fault. But while she was indisposed he and River had to work together to save everyone. I don't know specifically what happened with River and him. I wasn't there. I just put together what he and Donna have told me. Either way it was safe to assume River'd someday be his wife. Which, I suppose after this trip," she said looking at the Next Doctor and River, "it's safe to assume we were correct."

"But how did she die?" I asked.

"River died when she chose to sacrifice herself in the place of the Doctor in order to save Donna and the other 4022 people trapped in the Library's computer. The Doctor saved her though, sort of, with something called a 'Neural Relay'."

"Think of it as a data chip for a computer. It contained River's data ghost," the Doctor told us, we hadn't heard him come up and we were both startled. "I saved her by uploading her into the virtual world contained in the Library's data core. CAL, the library's data core, was controlled by a human girl who was wired into its mainframe. CAL had also saved the data ghosts of all of River's dead archaeological team, giving her company in the virtual world. So thankfully she still has a peaceful life to look forward to even after her time."

Martha and I glanced at each other. We hadn't meant for the Doctor to catch us gossiping about anything so personal. I decided our best way out of this was to continue the subject as if that's all it was, a talk about River.

"So that was the first time you met her then?" I asked him.

"Yes. It seems we are going to be meeting a lot," the Doctor said looking River over.

"Does it worry you?" I wondered aloud.

"What?"

"That you and she are more than companion and Time Lord," I said.

The Doctor seemed to think about it a minute.

"I don't know. I barely know her at this point in my life, ask me when I'm him," he replied.

We finally stopped outside a large ornamented set of doors. The servant escorting us held up his hand to have us stop.

"Her Majesty would like to have you join her," the manservant told me directly.

I don't know what the look on my face was but Martha cracked up laughing at me. She nudged me forward to follow him but I couldn't help noticing the uneasy look on River and the Next Doctor's faces.

The manservant rapped on the grand doors and they were opened from inside. Someone announced the 'royal guests of the court'. Another servant came out and led the others in, Donna and Jack winked at me on their way by. I smiled.

"If you would follow me milady," the manservant said to me.

I followed him down the hall and was ushered into another room. The door was shut behind me and I turned to look at Marie Antoinette, I had to force myself not to stare. The gown she'd worn earlier had been beautiful, but this one made it look like a cheap thrift store buy.

"I'm glad to see you found a gown you liked," she said to me.

"I love it, thank you," I told her.

She smiled at me and got up from her vanity to join me near the door.

"Miranda, I asked you to be escorted here because I have a favor to ask of you."

I looked at her startled. The Queen of France wanted me to do _her_ a favor? This excited me a bit, but I also felt suddenly nervous. What could I do that she didn't have hundreds of others available to do all the time?

"Anything, your Majesty," I told her doing a well practiced curtsy.

"For starters you may call me, Tony," she told me. "I had a dear friend who used to call me that; I admit I don't much care for such familiarity."

"Tony?" I repeated unsure.

She smiled at me and took my hand, leading me to sit on her grand bed beside her.

"The other favor is for you to sing tonight, for me," she said.

I stared at her with my mouth hanging open stupidly. The fact that it was completely rude never crossed my mind. Apparently Antoinette noticed she had surprised me with the request and continued so as to explain.

"I was merely a child when I first met the Doctor. He spoke of such wonderful places and people. But he never spoke of anyone as he did you. He made you sound like an angel in the Heavens, perfect in every way. I have to admit he seems to have been right. When I realised who you were I knew that I had to send you one of my personal wardrobe journals. Only you were fit to where the Royal Dresses of France…"

"Oh, you didn't have to! I would have been fine with what the other girls wore," I interrupted.

She smiled at me.

"You remind me of my old friend who called me Tony," she said with a sad smile. She shook her head slightly as if to shake away bad thoughts. "Listen, I can tell a princess from a pauper, and you my love, are no pauper. It is true the other dresses are quite lovely, but you will see that your friends are dressed the same as any commoner when we go to supper. But you? You and I will be Queens here and we will be treated as such."

I didn't much like the sound of that, did that mean she thought the others weren't good enough? I frowned. She must have read my thoughts on my face.

"Oh, please don't take offense. I do not mean that your friends are unimportant, I merely felt more a connection to you. I don't know what it is; it's similar to how I feel when with the Doctor."

"But what does this have to do with me singing for you? Why am I so special?"

"You were the Doctor's most loved and favored companion, I knew this, and he never denied it. He used to say that you had the voice of a mermaid; angelic and alluring. He told me he used to hear you sometimes when you thought no one was listening. I must admit since I was a child he had painted such a perfect portrait in my mind of you. I suppose you became a fairytale princess in my mind and it would please me to no end to have you perform for me tonight!"

"I'm sorry, I can't…"

The door to the Queen's chambers banged open.

"Of course you can! Toinette that's a brilliant idea! In fact, I know just the song we could sing," the Next Doctor said happily barging in and clapping his hands.

Antoinette frowned at him before bursting into giggles.

"Oh, Doctor. You and your listening at keyholes."

"Yes, well. Bad habit. I don't think I realized quite how much I spoke of Miranda. So, what do you say?" he asked looking at me.

"Say to what?"

"You and I singing of course. Although you and I haven't sung it together yet I know you have written it already. Though I suppose I'm messing with time again, but never mind that. You and I, yes?" he rambled happily.

"No!" I said getting up from the bed. "I can't!"

"Oh, nonsense of course you can," he said dismissively. "You and your phobias. Though I admit they certainly are serious ones for you. I'm telling you, you'll learn to get over them right quick traveling with me! Arachnophobia, claustrophobia, acrophobia, nyctophobia. All of them can be overcome in time. For now let's work on that performance anxiety. Come along, Tate," he said heading for the door.

"Wonderful!" Antoinette exclaimed. "This will be a fabulous birthday party for you tonight."

"Wait a minute," I called after him. "I don't even know what we'd sing!"

He peeked his head back in the door and smiled at me.

"I See The Light," he said.

I stared at him. I'd written a song with that title only a couple months ago, how did he? I sighed. The answer was a simple one: Time Lord, _future_ Time Lord. Oh, this was complicated. The Queen was staring at me with a look that said she was not going to take another 'no' happily.

"Alright, but… you'll sing it with me?" I asked nervously not wanting to upset the Queen.

I had terrible visions of being beheaded. Being a Time Lady doesn't come naturally. Although my genetic makeup was very much Time Lord, my mind and beliefs weren't. I was all too human after living as one for so long.

"Where I'm supposed to, I don't think I should sing the girly parts," he joked. "Now, may I escort my ladies to the Banquet Hall? I'm afraid we're already going to be quite late."

"You may my lord," Antoinette said taking an arm.

The Next Doctor offered me the other and I took it. He led us out of the room; Antoinette's four ladies in waiting followed behind us silently.

"Announce us," the Queen ordered the doorman.

He rushed and opened the doors stepping into the large hall and his voice echoed in the chamber.

"Announcing her Majesty, Queen of France, Marie Antoinette!" He paused for the loud applause and then continued, "And her guests of honor: Lord Troy Hansom and Lady Miranda Tate."

The Doctor led us through the door and we were greeted with applause. The first thing I noticed was that hundreds of people were crammed in the balconies above. The giant circular room was filled with people. I felt the Next Doctor squeeze my arm, for comfort I supposed.

"You get used to it," he whispered out the side of his mouth.

"They watch you eat?" I asked just as quietly.

"Don't worry, my dear," Antoinette said to me. "It took forever for me to become accustomed as well."

I wasn't sure if that made me feel better or worse. There were two large tables facing each other and I saw that the King and Queen of England were centered in the first, seated with other nobility.

The Next Doctor helped Antoinette into her seat and then me into mine and everyone sat down again. The King of England made a long speech, welcoming the Queen of France to their country and home. When he was finished he clapped his hands and food was brought out to the tables. I was overwhelmed with the amount of food on each plate. There was no way I could eat it all. For starters I didn't eat red meat, ever. Secondly, I didn't know what half of it was.

I noticed everyone else had tucked in and I lifted the proper fork and stared at my plate. I could feel the hundreds of eyes watching us and I suddenly felt what was left of my appetite disappear. Antoinette glanced at me and whispered behind her napkin, leaning over the Next Doctor.

"The corn and potatoes are good. Don't eat anything that is red or black. And you can eat as little as you'd like."

I smiled at her appreciatively. I listened to the large amount of chatter going on between both tables. I forced myself to eat the corn and potatoes but quit eating as I felt my stomach turn. I was terrified of large crowds and I noticed the Next Doctor looking at me. I met his eyes and he nodded as if understanding what the matter was.

He leaned closer to Antoinette and whispered to her. She looked at me in mild surprise.

"Are you alright, dear?" she asked.

"I'm fine, thank you." I told her placing my napkin back in my lap. "Just a bit nervous I guess."

"The Doc…"

"Troy," the Next Doctor corrected.

"Yes, of course. _Troy_ tells me you do not do well in large groups of people?"

I looked up at the crowd gathering at the railings and nodded staring back at my plate. She reached over and took my hand. I smiled at her. She was not what I expected Marie Antoinette to be. They always described her as selfish and a party girl. This girl seemed considerate and compassionate.

"I'll be fine, Tony. Thank you."

I was thankful when Donna, who was on my other side, engaged me in conversation and distracted me the rest of supper. The King clapped his hands and servants came to take away our dirty dishes. Standing up the King called to all the people in the balcony. He invited them to another banquet hall where they'd be celebrating the birthday of Lady Tate as requested by the Queen of France. There was lots of cheering and the balconies began to empty, presumably to the room the party was being held.

Donna bumped with her elbow and gave me a mischievous smile.

"Oi, how about that? A party in your honor held by Kings and Queens! How's that make you feel?"

I felt my face turn red and my stomach turn, I swallowed hard and I was thankful when Antoinette grabbed my hand and lifted me out of my seat.

"I'm sorry, Lady Donna, you'll have to excuse us a moment!" the Queen said

She led me away from the table, her ladies in waiting following closely behind. In the hall she led me to a bathroom and I excused myself, disappearing behind the privacy screen and heaving into the toilet. I came back out feeling embarrassed.

"Are you feeling better milady?" one of the ladies in waiting asked me.

"Yes, thank you," I said.

I looked around and realised Antoinette and the other ladies had left me for privacy.

"Her Majesty has gone on to the party. Lord Smith is waiting for you in the hall with Lady Noble."

I thanked her and left the room, coming face to face with them.

"Sorry, Donna," I apologised. "I didn't mean to run out on you."

"Hey, no worries. Why didn't you tell us you were afraid of large groups of people?"

"It's not that I'm afraid of them, I just don't manage well being the main attention of them. I guess I couldn't take all the eyes staring."

Donna nodded sympathetically.

"Gotta say I wasn't all that happy with it either, I can't believe they do this every meal, every day!" She said looking at the Doctor.

"Yes, well. Different time, different standards," he said. "Are you alright to head to the party then?"

I stared at him in horror but realised I didn't have much a choice. The Queen was hosting a party for _me_; it would be _beyond_ rude to blow it off. I was pretty sure they'd behead me if I so much as attempted it anyways.

"I suppose I have to be," I said.

"Don't worry; they won't pay any attention to you when you arrive. Not with all the important people attending."

The Doctor was right. When we arrived no one paid any attention to me at all. I was introduced to only a dozen people over the period of an hour, despite the fact that there were hundreds. I found myself stuck by Donna's, Martha's, and Amy's sides. I found I enjoyed their company. Together the three were quite a trio, joking and laughing. I'd completely forgotten my agreement to sing for the Queen; until her grand announcement anyways…

The Doctor was wandering from person to person smiling and shaking hands. I swore he'd spoken to everyone in the room already. I couldn't believe how much of a social butterfly he was. He had just come up to talk with us when Antoinette called the attention of the entire hall. When she told everyone that her guests of honor had agreed to have a special performance everyone began clapping and she called for the Next Doctor and me to come up. I grabbed the Doctor and rushed behind him hiding. He glanced over his shoulder at me, seemingly amused. I smacked him on the back to let him know that he should pretend I wasn't here. He folded his arms and faced forward.

I was still embarrassed from our talk earlier but under the circumstances I didn't have time to worry about it. Amy and Martha stood on either side of him blocking me from sight; unknowingly helping me in the process. Unfortunately for me the Next Doctor popped out of nowhere and grabbed my hand. He pulled me out from behind the Doctor and I tried to talk my way out of it.

"Doctor I can't do this!" I said trying harder.

"Oh, nonsense it's just a song or two."

"Two! You said one!"

"Yes, well, I remembered a song you used to sing I always quite enjoyed. I've already instructed the instrumentalists on the music so all you have to do is sing."

I pulled my hand out of his and stopped to glare at him.

"How dare you!" I said angrily.

"Now there's a look I've missed," he teased. He stepped closer to whisper in my ear. "There's a song you used to sing called 'Disgusting.' You used to laugh and tell me it fit us perfectly. I know you have no idea what I'm talking about but I'm asking you to do it for me, even if we aren't exactly on terms now."

I looked in his eyes and saw something that terrified me, hunger. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. To my mortification his Time Lord scent hit my nose with his close proximity and I felt myself become aroused. I took a large step back and I heard the Queen calling for us to come up again. I looked up at her and she was smiling brightly down at us. I felt the Next Doctor's hand slide into mine and he tugged it gently.

I followed behind him apprehensively. Standing on the stage I saw that Donna and the others had come to the front of the crowd to join the King and Queens to watch. I saw Donna give me two thumbs up for encouragement. I sought out the Doctor's face and he smiled at me, 'deep breathes' he mouthed. I took a few deep breathes as the instrumentalists began to practice the introduction. I was startled to find that they were exactly how I'd written them for the song. I looked at the Next Doctor who was smiling and he quickly turned to the crowd.

"My King and Queens, Lords and Ladies, due to a case of performance anxiety we'll be performing sat down, we'd hate to pass out in the middle of our performance as it's not meant to be a comedy…"

The crowd laughed and I felt my cheeks burn. Two chairs were brought up and the Next Doctor turned them so we'd be facing each other not the crowd. I realised he was trying to help me forget that other people were even there. I sat down and he took my hands in his, I ran through the lyrics in my head and decided it would seem like a part of the performance, it was a song about the love of two people. Of course he'd have thought it through. We'd probably done this before, in the future, the difference was it was a first for me right now.

"It's funny. I suppose I know how it feels to be River now. She has all these memories of being with me, but they haven't happened for me yet… Now I have all these memories of being with you, and _you_ don't have clue."

I looked up at him but didn't get to reply as the instrumentalists struck the first chords and I closed my eyes, counting beats and waiting for the mark that would be my intro. Opening my eyes I pretended I was in acting class back in high school singing with Mitchell. I met the Next Doctor's eyes, focusing with all my might on them, and sang.

"All those days watching from the windows. All those years, outside looking in. All that time never even knowing just how blind I've been. Now I'm here blinking in the starlight. Now I'm here, suddenly I see. Standing here, it's all so clear: I'm where I'm meant to be… And at last I see the light and it's like the fog has lifted. And at last I see the light and it's like the sky is new. And it's warm and real and bright and the world has somehow shifted. All at once everything looks different, now that I see you!"

I sang with all my heart and realised how good it felt to be able to sing so freely, openly. The Next Doctor was smiling at me and I couldn't help but smile back, he was right, the lyrics just felt right somehow. He cleared his throat and began singing his verse and I was surprised that he actually had a beautiful voice. Strong and sensual, his voice was like velvet.

"All those days chasing down a daydream. All those years living in a blur. All that time never truly seeing things the way they were. Now she's here shining in the starlight. Now she's here, suddenly I know. If she's here its crystal clear I'm where I'm meant to go…"

"And at last I see the light." We sang together.

I paused for the next line.

"And it's like the fog has lifted," he sang.

"And at last I see the light." We sang together again and then he paused for me.

"And it's like the sky is new," I sang higher than I ever had before.

"And it's warm and real and bright and the world has somehow shifted. All at once everything is different. Now that I see you… Now that I see you…" I sang with him for the ending and our voices joined in perfect harmony.

I heard our voices grow steadier and higher, the passion of the words taking over. It had started as just a song but it had become so much more… the lyrics had become a story, our story, and it was only just beginning.

The music ended and we both jumped in our seats as the applause echoed in the large room. I stared in shock at the large crowd, I'd forgotten them completely. I felt the excitement hit me as I looked at all the faces smiling and cheering. I found Donna and Martha cheering the loudest and couldn't stop myself from laughing.

"Thank you!" the Next Doctor called. "Now we have one more song special for our lovely Antoinette. I know how you love a new upbeat song; I have just the one for you!"

Antoinette clapped happily and beamed at us. I smiled back at her. The Doctor was clapping next to Jack looking impressed.

"We may need some help in the beginning though," the Next Doctor called out to the room.

The Next Doctor stepped off the stage and I felt my stomach leap into my mouth, he was leaving me alone up here by myself. I was surprised when he began to clap a rhythm. He had Antoinette join him and pretty soon everyone was. The Instrumentalists began to play and the lyrics came to my mind, I ignored my nervousness and began to sing along with the music.

"My heart booms at the speed of light. But the exit signs always on my mind, always in my sight.  
>I can say that I really want to stay, but the devil inside always wins the fight, always gets his way. Jump out the window gotta get out on the highway, think things are getting too attached I need an escape. I'm seeing stars and there is nothing more that I hate, baby.."<p>

The crowd was clapping to the beat and I smiled when I saw Jack had grabbed Donna for a dance. She looked rather surprised and pleased as he spun her in a circle. The Next Doctor and River joined them and soon other people followed their example. My heart pounded in my chest and I thought I was going to be sick but I kept singing.

"…It's disgusting, how you changed me. From a bandit to a baby. Think I might gotta change my name, if I'm gonna walk this walk of shame. Look at what you do to me. It's disgusting…" 

I finished singing and when the music ended they all clapped and the Queen came up to hug me. I accepted it with relief since I suddenly felt beyond nauseous. She waved me off stage and I took the steps two at a time and headed right past the Doctor and Martha who were waiting for me at the bottom. I knew they were following me but I didn't slow down as I raced out into the empty hallway.

Outside I leaned my head against the cool stone wall and felt the sweat run down the side of my face. I felt my chest constricting and when I tried to take a deep breath I felt a stinging pain shoot through me.

"Hey, you alright?" I heard Martha ask.

I felt her hand touch my back and I turned around and leaned my head back against the wall. I nodded my head but didn't attempt to speak. I was sure I'd throw up all over her if I did.

"What's the matter?"

"She's afraid of crowds and she was on stage in front of a large one, and the center of attention at that," the Doctor told her.

"Anxiety attack," Martha decided. "Okay, just take slow deep breathes… there you go."

I breathed slowly and felt my stomach settle slightly, but not enough. Martha stroked my back gently as I felt the tension ease a bit and I swallowed hard focusing on breathing. I turned to look at them apologetically.

"I'm sorry; I was doing so well too…"

"No! You were fabulous! Your voice is lovely," Martha said enthusiastically.

The King of England entered the hall escorted by a collection of gentleman. He stopped beside us and greeted the Doctor.

"I have been informed that you are looking for transport out to the islands," he said. "I've been told you think you can help with our... problem."

"Yes and yes…"

The King gave the Doctor an intense look.

"And what are you – some kind of crisis management expert?"

The Doctor scratched the back of his neck.

"No, well, yes, maybe I am. Crisis management, yes I suppose that's what I do, although I'm not sure about the management bit, sounds a bit desk-bound – meetings and agendas and all that, and no offence to you, your majesty, but that's not really me."

The King stared at the man in amazement. How could anyone talk that fast for so long and say nothing? He frowned and shook his head waving to the gentlemen behind him.

"Follow us and we can discuss business. I'm afraid such matters are not fitting to discuss before ladies of the court," the King said glancing at us.

I could see Martha's unhappiness with this statement but she didn't say anything as the Doctor gave her a warning look. He followed the group of men as they headed off but he turned to look at us again.

"Miranda, you're alright?" He asked as an afterthought.

"Yeah, fine."

He nodded and pointed a finger at Martha.

"Don't let him talk her into any more stupid ideas!" he warned. "I'd hate to have to hurt someone."

"I thought you didn't approve of violence…" Martha teased.

"I don't. Which is why it'd be tragic if I had to kill myself," he grinned.

We laughed as he jogged off to catch up with the disappearing group of men. We knew he was all talk, at least under these circumstances. I glanced at the wall and noticed an old style wall clock and sighed. For only being ten at night I was incredibly tired….

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**


	12. Chapter 12 being revised

**Author's Note: THIS CHAPTER WILL BE UPDATED SOON… you can of course continue reading if you wish, but eventually you'll want to come back and REREAD it because there may be some drastic changes in the chapter. Fair warning. As much as it may suck you may want to hold off and read more later. Don't worry, the update is scheduled for release by 5/18/13.**

**XXXXXXCHAPTERTWELVEXXXXXX**

**XXXMARTHAXXX**

Martha placed a hand on Mandy's arm and drew her closer.

"The Doctor thinks that there's something going on across the channel. While we were socializing he was getting different opinions on the vampire rumour," Martha whispered.

"And what did he find out?" Mandy asked realizing she'd forgotten all about the vampires temporarily and feeling rather guilty about it.

"Apparently only ships that come within 100 metres of one particular island get attacked. The Doctor thinks that it's possible that children are being converted into vampires."

Mandy stared at her in horror and felt her dinner coming up again. She choked and swallowed hoping to avoid being sick. Martha felt the same way. Children being changed into vampires, she could only imagine what and how they were doing it.

"So what do we do?" Mandy asked.

Martha didn't answer because she was wondering the same thing. Did they wait for the Doctor to come back? Did they do some investigating of their own? She was a member of UNIT, she was used to having to take charge at times but this was not modern day England. She knew nothing about this place or the people. She was saved from having to think too much on it when they were joined by others in the hall.

"Nothing yet. We wait. First we need to get that airship," the Next Doctor said coming out of the hall followed by everyone else.

"If everything goes as planned I'll be flying us over in a matter of hours," Jack said.

"You can fly a plane?" Mandy asked surprised.

"_Captain_ Jack Harkness. What'd you think I was captain of?" he asked.

"I was thinking of an army," I admitted. "Like a SEAL or something."

"Where's the Doctor?" Donna asked.

"Getting our transport," Martha told her. "He's gone with the King."

"What do you suppose is out that way?" the Next Doctor asked pointing at the high windows that were mainly there for light, not looking out of.

Apparently curiosity got the best of him and we watched him clamber up a column like a monkey and peer out. He smiled broadly, obviously enjoying the sight.

"Oh, now that is beautiful. Quite a garden if I do say so myself."

"What does it look like?" Mandy asked intrigued.

"Would you like to see?" He asked.

"I can't exactly climb up like you did. I'm wearing a dress!"

He made a funny face and Martha and Donna laughed as he just reached his arm out to her.

"No problem. Up you come!"

She grabbed the Next Doctor's hand, and he hauled her up the column, sitting her on top of the large window ledge, high above the floor. She looked out the window in awe. She smiled at him.

"Not bad. You're surprisingly strong for a skinny bloke."

Amy and River burst out laughing at this and the Next Doctor looked hurt.

"I am _not_ skinny! I'm just you know, not too show-offy about my strength."

He jumped down from the column and Mandy stared at him in surprise and then looked at the good eight feet between her and the floor.

"Don't leave me up here!" she squealed startled.

He grinned enjoying her discomfort too much.

"Oh, alright. Come on, I'll catch you." He said opening his arms. "Just slide off."

"Umm, maybe that's not such a good idea." Martha told him seeing lots of things that could go wrong with that. "The Doctor has told me to warn you he'll kill you if you talk her into anymore stupid ideas."

"Ah, I always was the one to give warnings before I struck out."

"Doctor… It's really high up here for a girl in heels…" Mandy said nervously.

"Nonsense. Come on, Mandy. This is part two of fear overcoming. Let's take care of those heights."

Mandy swallowed and closed her eyes. She slid off the edge and the Next Doctor caught her easily and settled her on her feet. She opened her eyes and grinned.

"See? Not so bad then was it?" he asked.

She shook her head no and stood between Donna and Martha.

"Great," the Next Doctor said clapping. "Come along, ladies. We have some dancing to do!"

"Oh no you don't!" River said to him tugging him back beside her. "You have work to do."

He glanced from face to face then nodded his head. He and River exchanged looks and he raised his eyebrows and then clapped his hands as if just remembering something.

"Right. Yes, of course. Well then," he said quickly. "I'll just go and do that… work. Come along, Pond."

The Doctor wandered off down the hall and Amy stayed at his heels holding her skirts off the floor. They could hear her asking the Doctor what they were doing which he purposely avoided answering.

"Why does he always go running off with my wife?" Rory complained. "This isn't healthy for _any_ relationship."

"Rory," River said. "If I could have a word? I need your help with something."

Rory glanced at the others nervously and then nodded his head quickly and followed River as she walked down the hall towards where the Next Doctor and Amy had disappeared. Martha stared after them confused. Where could they be going? What were they doing?

"Do you get the feeling we're unwanted?" Donna asked.

"Why don't we head back to our rooms? We'll do something, just the four of us," Martha suggested.

"Sounds good to me. What you got in mind, Jones?" Jack teased.

"Keep it in your pants, Captain. That's not happening. Ever."

He grinned cheekily and headed down the hall with them following behind. They joked as they walked along, commenting on the beautiful castle and gossiping about the other guests. She was surprised he knew where they were going, _she_ certainly didn't. But it was obvious that Jack knew every turn because after a quite a few minutes they arrived back at their private rooms.

"So whose room are we invadin'?" Donna asked.

"We can hang out in mine; I don't think it will make much of a difference," Mandy offered.

Martha had noticed that all the halls were lit with large torches and lamps. She wondered what they were supposed to do in their rooms. Not having electricity was one of the things she missed most about some trips with the Doctor.

They followed Mandy into her room and she was happy to see that a small working fireplace was set into one wall. Its plain mantel was covered with cream-colored candles of various sizes, maybe thirty of them. Pillars of candles stood around the huge room, some on black wrought-iron stands, some on the floor, and some atop glass blocks or even set on top of stacks of ancient-looking books. The room was lit only by candlelight, and the wavering shadows thrown on every wall were hypnotic and beautiful.

They all sat together on Mandy's large bed and got comfortable looking around the room and noting the differences between their own. An awkward quiet spread between them and for a long minute no one said anything.

"Jack, you said you've seen faeries before. What were they like?" Donna asked finally breaking the silence.

"Yeah, I thought they were supposed to be happy friendly creatures…" Mandy said.

"No," Jack said annoyed. "They aren't. And they aren't faeries."

He crossed his arms and sighed leaning against the bed frame.

"Well, what do you call them?" Martha asked.

If Martha didn't know any better she'd say he was quite cross with the subject. It was very unlike Jack to get legitimately cross with anyone or anything. Sure, she'd seen him get quite tetchy while working at Torchwood but this seemed like more than just a touchy subject. She knew something was up and when he didn't answer…

"Jack?" She asked concernedly.

"They never really had a proper name," he said finally.

"Why not?" Donna asked.

"Something from the dawn of time. How could you possibly put a name for that?"

"Are we talking alien?" Martha asked.

"Worse."

"How come?" Martha asked not understanding.

"Because they're part of us. Part of our world, yet we know nothing about them. So we pretend to know what they look like. We see them as happy. We imagine they have tiny little wings that are bathed in moonlight."

"But they're not?" Mandy asked surprised.

"No. Think dangerous." He said leaning forward and staring at us seriously. "Think something you can only half-see, like a glimpse, like something out of the corner of your eye. With a touch of myth, a touch of the spirit world, a touch of reality; all jumbled together. All the moments and memories that are frozen amongst it. Like debris spinning around a planet; tossing, turning, whirling. Then backwards and forwards through time."

We sat silently again all thinking about this and trying to picture something so powerful, dangerous. Something hit Martha all of a sudden.

"But the faeries we saw weren't tiny, not as we imagine them to be. They were children, very small children, but still just kids."

"All these so called faeries were children once. From different moments in time going back millennia. Part of the lost lands."

"Lost lands… What?" Donna asked equally as confused as the rest of us.

"The lands that belonged to them."

"What exactly do they want? Why are they here?" Mandy asked.

"What belongs to them; the chosen one," he said staring up at the ceiling.

"What's 'the chosen one'?"

"A child. A child that they choose and protect until they take them."

"How does a child know if they're chosen?" Martha asked.

"They go to them, speak to them," he said.

They looked at Mandy and her eyes widened. She shook her head no in disbelief.

"I'm not a child!" She pointed out desperately.

"No, but in a way you are a _last_ child," a new voice said.

They turned startled to see the Doctor standing in the doorway. He crossed the room to join us on the bed. We stared at him waiting for him to elaborate. We didn't have to wait long.

"You were only eight when Gallifrey fell. When you left you were the only child left. And although you've grown up you are still the last child of our planet. The faeries don't just target earth, they target every planet in every time. Searching for the next destined child that will become a part of their never ending species."

"And you think they chose me?" Mandy asked horrified.

"It's possible, but we won't know for sure…"

"There is one way," Jack said.

"Don't," the Doctor glared. "Don't even suggest it."

"But if she is chosen then she'll be protected. She won't be in danger at all. I will be and even then I don't think they'll be able to do much," Jack grinned. "I can't die, remember?"

"Oi! Is someone going to tell us what the hell you're on about or what?" Donna asked.

"He wants to make the faeries think he's a threat to Mandy's life. If she _is_ the chosen one they'd attack him to protect her. If she's not…"

"Nothing will happen at all," Jack pointed out.

"Can we… talk about something else for now?" Mandy asked nervously.

We looked at her and after an exchanging of glances Donna launched into a story of telling Mandy all about a trip where she and the Doctor had met Agatha Christie. The time ticked by without any of us noticing. Except the Doctor who seemed a bit impatient to be sitting here not doing anything.

"Is this how time usually passes?" He asked suddenly, a good hour later. "Really slowly? In the proper order?"

They laughed and heard the bedroom door open. They turned to see River and Rory standing in the doorway.

"Have you heard from the Doctor?" she asked, her voice strained.

"No, why?" the Doctor asked picking up on her discomfort.

"He was supposed to be back…" she stopped abruptly and grabbed a large walkie-talkie out of Rory's hand. "Doctor?"

No answer.

"Doctor, its River. Are you there?"

Still no answer. She glared at it in frustration and the Doctor got off the bed to join them by the door.

"How long have you been unable to reach him?"

River looked up at him warily.

"Twenty minutes? Maybe more? I don't know I was busy," River pressed the button again. "Doctor? Amy? Is anyone there?"

"Should we go look for them?" Martha asked concernedly.

Suddenly a feint static echoed from the walkie-talkie and then fell silent again. River slammed her finger on the button urgently.

"Hello? Is someone there?"

There was a pause and then the static called back.

"_River?_" a quiet terrified voice asked.

"Amy is that you?"

"_They took him_," she said holding back a sob. "_He made me hide and they just, took him!_"

Amy sounded on the verge of hysteria. The Doctor yanked the walkie-talkie out of River's hand who was suddenly looking as panicked as Amy sounded.

"Amy, this is John Smith. The… _old_ Doctor. Tell me what happened. Start at the beginning."

They were all standing by the door now. Listening closely.

"_We came to the docks to look out at the water. The Doctor said he could smell something. He wouldn't say what. Then he just shoved me backwards and told me to run and hide_," was the shaken reply.

"What happened then? Amy, listen to me. Tell me everything," the Doctor said calmly.

"_There were voices and then an explosion. Then he just started yelling nonsense. I didn't look because he'd told me to stay hidden no matter what. After a couple minutes of silence I hollered for him but he was gone. Then I heard the communicator and_…"

River snatched the walkie-talkie back from the Doctor and intercepted Amy's message.

"Amy! It's River! Now think, what was the Doctor hollering?"

"I don't know it didn't make any sense. Something about angels and vampires. He said not to let them have the angel, whatever we did, protect the angel."

River looked completely confused.

"What angel? The Weeping Angels?" River asked her.

"_I don't know! River I can't find my way back! I don't know where I am!_" Amy said starting to cry.

"Amy, love. Listen to me. Tell me where you are. Are there any street signs? Describe what you see."

Amy did between bouts of panicked gasps and sobs. Eventually River figured out where she was and told her to stay put, hide, and they'd be there in a minute. They all headed for the door and she stopped them.

"No. Just me and Rory are going," she insisted.

"No offense but I think the bigger the number…"

"The more attention we'll draw! You and her! But that's it!" River said storming out of the room.

Martha saw the indecision on the Doctor's face as he glanced at Mandy. Why would River pick her out to come instead of Jack who had a weapon and brute strength at times? Martha met his eyes as he looked her over and she tilted her head towards Mandy. This was the chance for them to work together. And if there was trouble they knew exactly where they were going anyways. The Doctor just grabbed Mandy's arm and pulled her after him. Mandy hollered in surprise not understanding why she was being dragged along.

Martha watched them go and turned towards Donna and Jack who were looking at her as if waiting for some sort of opinion. She smiled at them and nodded towards the door.

"They have an hour. If they aren't back by then we go out ourselves."

Donna and Jack looked pleased enough with that answer and they all settled down in Mandy's room to wait, watching the clock tick as they discussed their plan of action.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXMANDYXXX**

"Wait! You changed out of your dress! At least let me!" I called to River. "I'm no use like this!"

The Doctor, Amy, and River had pulled ahead in a search for Amy. For some reason River had picked her to come with them instead of Jack or Martha, or Donna. I wasn't sure why. I had no talents, not really. I mean, not comparing to the others who'd all been companions of the Doctor for a long time.

"You're doing fine!" she called back paying no attention as she looked at her weird device.

"But why me?" I asked hiking my skirts up and trying to keep up in the long dress.

"Rory. Talk to her."

"Why me? Why do I always get this task?" He complained.

"You're the newest. Now I'm busy, go," River answered handing the device to the Doctor.

He looked it over and they started talking about some red dot and what it indicated. Rory fell back to walk with me and looked at me out the corner of his eye.

"What's the problem?" he asked me.

I frowned at him and shook my head pulling my dress up and rearranging it so it was easier to hold while walking.

"Other than the fact that it's quite cold out here, I'm wearing a long dress that I keep walking on, and I'm in six inch heels? Oh, and its pitch dark out here? Did I mention I'm terrified of the dark? I'm surprised you don't know that! Your Doctor did!"

"Well, he seems to be the only one that knows you so…" Rory said.

"What?" I asked surprised at that. "But River seems to know me, or of me at least."

"Of you," River offered. "I only met you a couple times before… Here it is we must be close."

"Before what?" I wondered aloud.

No one answered. River and the Doctor stopped and looked around. Rory and I joined them searching the shadows amongst all the warehouses. The moon and stars were hidden by low hanging clouds and it was so dark I could barely make anything out. I heard the Doctor take a deep breath.

"She's over there," he said, heading in that direction.

A few feet from a warehouse we stopped and River called out quietly.

"Amy? It's River, come out!"

A shadow cautiously emerged and a bright light flickered on. We blinked as Amy ran the beam of a flashlight over us. Suddenly she started running full speed, her boots clomping on the rough ground. She raced into Rory's arms and he enfolded his arms around her.

"Rory take Amy back to the TARDIS," River told him.

"But what about the Doctor?" Amy asked pulling out of his arms. "We can't leave him!"

"We aren't. We're going to find him, but you need to go back and check the TARDIS. See if you can pick anything up from there. Contact us if you get any readings."

"But…" Amy started to argue.

"Amy, we can help if we can do a scan from the TARDIS. We may even be able to find him directly," Rory told her pulling her hand.

She looked like she wanted to argue but she let herself be pulled away and they disappeared into the dark. I backed up and bumped into River and gasped.

"Sorry!" I apologized. "I can't see very well."

"Its fine, come on," She said placing her hand on my back. "Let's go."

"Where are we going? We don't even know who or what took the Doctor."

"Actually I have a reading on him already. The Doctor and I picked it up about three minutes ago."

"But I thought you were sending Amy and Rory to find him on the TARDIS?"

"No. I was sending them to do a scan of the area to see what was out here. There are other readings that aren't human out here. I need to know what they are. But the Doctor is about a mile south of here. So let's hurry," River said picking up speed.

We walked silently and I felt the Doctor pressed close behind us as we got closer to the blinking dot on River's device. Five more dots appeared around the Doctor's mark and River stopped. She looked over the readings and frowned. She shoved me towards the closest building and we pressed up against the wall. She walked to the edge of the building and looked around the corner. She whipped her head back and then walked towards us again.

"There's a subway down there. It's being guarded by creatures; I'm not sure what they are."

"A subway?" The Doctor asked confused. "There aren't any subways in this time period."

"No there isn't." River agreed. "But that's what the readings are saying. There's electricity installed all around this place. Look, they have street lights."

The Doctor stepped around me and carefully edged his way toward the corner. He looked around and then came back.

"This is all wrong. It's like two times have merged. But why?" He wondered aloud.

"I don't know. But first things first we have to find the Doctor."

"Yeah, but there's something else. Those creatures are carrying people down into the subway."

"What? That explains why the readings keep multiplying. But what for?" River wondered aloud.

"I don't know. But if we want to get past those guards we need a distraction."

They stared at each other a minute and then River sighed.

"What?" I asked.

"Okay, here's the plan. We are going to draw the guards as far from here as possible and keep them busy. We need you to get down there and find the Doctor. We'll try to find you if we don't run into any trouble. Once you're with the Doctor do exactly as he says do you understand?"

"Why?"

"We're the Doctor's companions. We do as we're told."

"_Do_ you?" the Doctor asked her legitimately curious, and slightly sarcastic.

"Absolutely not," River grinned like a minx. "And you love it!"

The Doctor returned the cocky grin and they stared at me.

"You shouldn't have any trouble once inside." River told me.

"How do you know?" I asked nervously.

"The readings show that only humans are inside besides the Doctor. They're all in a dormant state…"

"What does that mean?"

"It means they are either sleeping or knocked out. My guess, considering they're being carried down there, it's the latter." The Doctor said.

"But how am I supposed to save him?" I asked. "I don't have any _ninja_ skills or anything!"

"You can do it. You just have to believe in yourself," the Doctor said. "If you do that, there isn't anything you can't do."

I stared at them and suddenly the dark got even darker. We looked around and realized that the streetlights had all gone out.

"What's happening?" I asked.

"They've shut down all the electricity. Listen. We need to move. The Doctor and I are going to distract the guards. We'll lead them that direction." She pointed the opposite direction. "As soon as they've gone past you need to run down into that subway and find the Doctor. He can help you from there."

"Are you sure? What if the Doctor went…"

"I need him, I'm sorry but we need you to do this."

I stood there silently and finally nodded, only remembering we were now in pitch darkness again and they couldn't see me.

"Alright," I told her.

"Okay, ready?" she asked the Doctor.

"Sure, lead on."

River raced out into the open and fired a few rounds down the alley. I heard them connect with metal and the my body shivered with nerves.

"Come and get me!" She screamed firing another round of shots.

I heard a body drop, something explode, and lots of howling. She and the Doctor raced down the other alley and four creatures with lizard like heads scrambled past, growling and snarling after them. I ran out of my hiding place heading for the subway. I raced for the stairway and went down farther into the darkness and nearly lost my footing. I couldn't see anything at all. I felt my way carefully and tripped a few times when I miscalculated the distance between stairs.

Eventually dull lights came into view and I made way towards them. I felt the adrenaline pumping through me and I began to feel quite excited that I'd made it this far with no problems. I kept expecting something to pop out at me the closer I got to the lit subway room. When I made it to the bottom of the stairs I stopped dead in my tracks and looked all around.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXTHENEXTDOCTORXXX**

Mandy was horrified to find dozens of bodies lining the floor on both sides of the Subway. They all appeared to be unconscious and bound at the ankles and wrists. She stopped to take the pulse of the closest body. The pulse was strong, they were just sleeping. Another of the bodies seemed to move. Treading carefully, but still making a few people squirm as she stepped on them, Mandy made her way towards it. With delight, she saw that it was the Next Doctor.

"Oh, here you are," she told him. "You could have been kidnapped to a luxury bar, or maybe the sixth floor of Macy's. But no. You choose a disgusting sewer. Again. Shall we take a minute to reflect? They caught you. Here I come, Mandy Tate, saving the day!"

She took the gag off the Next Doctor's mouth.

"Second thoughts, I could get used to this."

She put it back on.

"Only joking! I wouldn't leave you like this. Or would I?"

Mandy loved the way his face went slightly flushed when he was on the back foot. She pulled the gag from his mouth again, and the Next Doctor looked so pleased she thought he was about to kiss her.

"Miranda Tate! Never have I been so glad to see you! The faeries kidnapped me when we were on the docks."

Mandy leant in closer.

"What is that you have stamped on your face?"

The Next Doctor winced.

"Funnily enough I can't tell… Can you untie my leg?"

Mandy was too busy looking at the writing on his forehead.

"Now that is good, that is priceless. I _told_ you you were skinny. Even the pint-sized invaders agree!"

Written on the Next Doctor's forehead, in tiny red letters, was: '_Suitable for light manual labor only_.' Reaching through the gloop, Mandy untied the Next Doctor's feet and retrieved the sonic screwdriver from a box, where it had been labelled 'Possible rock cutting tool.'

As soon as he was free, the Next Doctor started on Mandy: "You took your time! I was the first one they brought down here, now look at everyone here."

Mandy raised an eyebrow, not willing to be knocked off course by the Next Doctor. "Ahem, avoiding the obvious here… I. Rescued. You. I think you better get used to it, Doctor, because you're going to see a whole lot more saving from me now I've got my alien-fighting moves."

Shaking his legs back awake, the Next Doctor did a funny little dance to the side of the platform and pointed down.

"Why are there no trains in the Subway?"

"Electricity's been cut everywhere. Nothing is running," she told him.

"Right then, away we go!"

The Next Doctor led her down the subway tunnel. She followed quietly as he looked at everything closely. Suddenly Mandy started laughing again.

"Suitable for light labor only – that is so funny. Even the fairies think you're a wimp."

The Next Doctor looked hurt.

"You don't have to go to the gym three times a day and be all muscle and cropped hair to be a force to be reckoned with," he protested.

Mandy couldn't help but laugh.

"Little hint: my kind of action hero doesn't straighten his bow tie when he's trying to explain how good he is in a fight."

"What is it with you and the bow tie, Mandy? You and Amy, I swear. Bow ties are cool!"

Mandy shook her head.

"It is definitely a cry for help."

Through the dark of the subway tunnel, she could hear a runaway train hurtling straight towards them. She looked desperately around her, but they were in one of the narrower parts of the tunnel, and they had nowhere to go.

"Run!" the Next Doctor yelled.

Mandy turned to flee, but felt the Next Doctor's hand on her shoulder.

"Not that way," he shouted. "The vampires are there."

"What?" Mandy screamed. "You want me to run towards the train?"

The Next Doctor looked back towards the oncoming train, now on the final stretch, and then straight into Mandy's eyes. "Trust me!"

Mandy nodded. If she knew one thing, it was that she was always going to follow this man, wherever he wanted her to go.

The front of the train suddenly looked enormous. It was gathering pace as if the track tilted downhill. Just as it seemed the train would hit them, Mandy felt the Next Doctor grab her and _throw_ her into a shallow cubbyhole. She pressed up tight to the wall, as the Next Doctor shouted, "Breathe in!"

With a giant clanging of machinery and metal, the runaway train came ever nearer. The back of Mandy's head was pushed against the wall. She could feel the rush of dirty hot air, and the smell of grease on steel as the front of the train skimmed past them. The skin on Mandy's nose tingled as the glass and metal rushed past her, bare millimeters from her face.

"This is why you should never walk on train lines…" the Next Doctor said after the train had passed.

He smiled at Mandy and shone his sonic screwdriver above them.

"Still. At least it woke me up properly. Now, I'll give you a leg up – you need to grab that ladder up there."

"Hey. Thanks Doctor. My kind of action hero."

The Next Doctor gave her a quick hug. "You're the best, Mandy. Now hurry up."

With an almighty shove, Mandy dislodged the manhole cover and flipped it out onto the street. Her head popped up like a ferret out of a hole, and she surveyed the streets. The Doctor and River were standing a good thirty feet from them. They apparently hadn't heard the manhole cover being moved because their backs were to her.

The Next Doctor hauled himself out with a groan after Mandy and smiled at them. River turned on the spot whipping her gun up and a laser light appeared in the center of Mandy's forehead. The Next Doctor stepped in front of her and raised his hands in surrender.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXMANDYXXX**

"Hi, honey. I'm home!" He said cheerily.

River spun her gun back into the pocket of her dress and gave him a look stuck between relief, happiness, and mild irritation. She looked at her watch and then back at him as she placed her hand on her hip.

"And what sort of time do you call this?"

I ran towards the Doctor and he laughed as he lifted me off my feet spinning me in a circle.

"I got to him in time. All tied up with a stamp on his forehead!" I said to him.

"I knew you could do it," the Doctor told me.

"Perfect timing if I do say so myself. Ah, and you brought me along too. Good, two Time Lords are better than one," the Next Doctor said to River.

River looked at him and arched an eyebrow. He adjusted his bow tie as she crossed her arms.

"Oh, alright. Four Time Lords," he corrected.

"Wait four Time Lords? What do you mean _four_?" the Doctor asked.

"Oh, see? That's why I only said two! Now it's bound to change history!"

The Doctor looked at me and River. His eyes widened as he looked River up and down.

"_You?!_ You're a Time Lady too? But how?"

"Spoilers," she smiled cheekily.

"I get tired of that line," the Doctor said.

"Believe me, you haven't even heard the beginning of it," the Next Doctor told him.

"What is that on your forehead?" River asked squinting from a distance.

"_Suitable for light manual labor only,"_ I told her laughing.

River cracked up as he walked up to her. The Next Doctor glared at her, suddenly feeling quite cross.

"I'm sorry, love! It's just…" she couldn't finish as she choked on her laughter.

"Oh, shut up!" He told her and stomped past. "Where's Pond?"

"I sent her back to the TARDIS to do an analysis of our surroundings. There are creatures out here. Human, with lizard like heads and scaly hands with claws. I don't know what they are; I've never seen them before."

We followed behind him as he scanned things with his sonic screwdriver as we walked along. He inspected things as we went and then tossed them aside in indifference.

"They're called Bulwoggles. They're evil and greedy creatures that can be persuaded to do anything if offered enough compensation. They shouldn't be here. The faeries must have bought their services."

"Doctor, there's a few strange things going on. There's a subway, electricity, modern buildings and businesses in this area. It's like the 20th century has merged with the 17th. And then we have the bulwoggles and faeries…"

"I believe the times have crossed. I'm not sure how quite yet but we need to figure it out. But first…" the Next Doctor said whipping around and facing us. "_You_ are going back to the TARDIS and staying there…"

I stopped, frowning. I'd just saved _him_ and he was sending _me_ back to the TARDIS? What?

"Umm, no?" I said.

"Yes. You are. I don't want you out here, Amy and Rory will stay with you…"

"Are you staying on the TARDIS?" I asked.

"No. I'm going to figure out how to separate these two time frames and get these aliens home."

"Then I'm going to help you. I can't just sit around in the TARDIS and wait."

"Yes you can and yes you will," the Next Doctor said flatly. "And this isn't open for discussion."

"Why?" I asked confused. "Have I done something wrong?"

The Doctor put his hand on my shoulder. I hiked up my skirts and stepped towards the Next Doctor trying to look at his face.

"I think it's a good idea as well. At least till we figure out what we're up against. We have no idea what's going on and the safest place for you is on the TARDIS," the Doctor said behind me.

"But I'm the only one who has to stay there?" I said incredulously. "Because I can guarantee that Amy and Rory aren't just going to sit there with me while you're out gallivanting about solving mysteries like Scooby-Doo and company."

"I am _not_. _Arguing_. With you!" The Next Doctor screamed.

We all looked at him startled. River looked like she'd never heard him use that tone before and stepped back a bit. He ran a hand quickly through his hair and attempted a smile. He came towards me and placed his hands on my face. He met my eyes with his own and I didn't understand the fear I found there.

"I'm sorry. I just really need you to trust me, alright? I need _you_ out of harm's way tonight. _Just_ tonight, I promise."

"What's so special about tonight?" I asked quietly.

"Go. River will take you."

I didn't respond and he walked away from me pretending to be interested in a garbage can overflowing with litter. The Doctor squeezed my hand as he walked by and he glanced at me wonderingly. I could see the millions of questions running through his mind because they were the same ones running through mine. What happened tonight that the future Doctor would be so terrified as to send me to the TARDIS, alone? Why just me? Why couldn't I help? What was going on? What were the faeries? What were the bulwoggles?

"Come on," River said quietly. "I'll take you to the TARDIS. You can get some sleep or something."

I nodded silently and she led me away. I stopped to turn and look at the Doctors who were both looking at me, their expressions unreadable in the darkness of the night. I turned and walked away and didn't look back again.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**


	13. Chapter 13 being revised

**Author's Note: THIS CHAPTER WILL BE UPDATED SOON… you can of course continue reading if you wish, but eventually you'll want to come back and REREAD it because there may be some drastic changes in the chapter. Fair warning. As much as it may suck you may want to hold off and read more later. Don't worry, the update is scheduled for release by 5/25/13.**

**XXXXXCHAPTERTHIRTEENXXXXX**

**XXXMARTHAXXX**

"I say we just go now," Donna said.

Martha crossed her arms over her leather jacket and sighed. They'd all decided to change their clothes after River, Rory, Mandy, and the Doctor took off on a rescue mission to find Amy and the future Doctor. Rescue missions went much easier if you weren't wearing a dress that felt like it was fifteen pounds with all the pieces.

"We'll give them ten more minutes," Jack said.

"We said an hour and that's how long we'll wait," Martha agreed.

She was worried. She hated it when the Doctor left her behind but she had to remind herself that she wasn't a companion anymore, he didn't _have_ to take her. Donna was even more annoyed because she _was_ his current companion. Donna had quickly become accustomed to the Doctor's world; fast, dangerous, mysterious. And just like Martha _still_ did, Donna got restless when sitting still.

"What if they got kidnapped too?" Donna argued. "Space man really does have a Grade A in Annoying…"

"Oi!" the Doctor said from the doorway. "I'll take you right back home!"

"Like you could bring yourself to drop me like that," Donna smirked; visibly relaxed now that she knew he was fine.

"Don't tempt me," he mock threatened.

"Where's Mandy?" Martha asked in a hurry. "And the others?"

Instinct told her something was up. Something nagged at the back of her mind. No River. No Rory. No Mandy or Amy. But what got her most was that neither of the Doctors seemed too concerned.

"On the Tardis, no worries," the Next Doctor said. "Now, listen closely. We have work to do…"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXMANDYXXX**

"…not staying!" Amy was arguing with River.

"Mandy has to stay here! And the Doctor needs you to stay with her to make sure she doesn't leave."

"Why does Mandy have to stay in the first place?" Rory asked her.

I sat in the swinging chair looking up at them through the glass floor. They were trying to be quiet but in the dormant Tardis I could hear them easily. I didn't bother to get involved. My choice was decided for me. I was to sit here like a good little Time Lady and entertain myself until someone came to tell me I could come out. I felt like a three year old on a time out.

"I don't know. But you have to believe me when I say she can't leave here, not till this is over," River said. "You didn't hear the way the Doctor screamed at her. Something's up."

"No. I'm sorry," Amy said defiantly. "I'm not babysitting a twenty-one year old woman."

There was silence and then I heard them coming down the steps they looked at me and River came to stand in front of me.

"I know you don't understand but you have to stay here. There's a pool, a library, there's a movie theatre, a wardrobe to change your clothes, a greenhouse… there's plenty to do. Explore. Just don't leave this Tardis. Please," River said.

"I don't understand. Why am I the only one that needs protecting?"

"Because you're important…."

"To who?"

"To the Doctor. And that's all that matters! Now shut up and stay or so help me I will find a deep dark hole in this Tardis and drop you in it!" River threatened.

I could tell she was trying hard to maintain her sense of composure and I wasn't helping. Either way I'd be stuck here so I simply nodded and looked away. I saw them pause out the corner of my eye before walking out the door and shutting it behind them. I looked around and sighed.

"So what do I do now?" I asked the Tardis.

A hallway lit up and a hologram stood in the center of it. The hologram showed a woman in her early thirties dressed in the same gown as I was. Her long black hair fell to her waist in curls and she waved a hand towards the hall.

"Does the Doctor know you can do this?" I asked her.

She merely smiled and walked down the hall. I followed her with a knowing smile on my face. Maybe being left behind wouldn't be _so_ bad…

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXDONNAXXX**

River, Amy, and Rory entered Mandy's room just as the Doctors finished explaining what they knew so far was going on in this time period. Donna was more confused after their explanation than before they had started.

"I'm confused," Donna said.

"Yeah, well, it's a big club. We should get T-shirts," the Next Doctor said.

Donna gave him one of her infamous I-_will_-kill-you looks and he grinned.

"Doctor, how can _two_ places be in the _same_ place?" Martha asked.

"Not the same. Two planes, two worlds, two _cars_ parked in the same space. There are lots of different universes nestled beside each other and now and again they collide and you can step from one to the other," the Next Doctor explained.

"A parallel world trapped in a temporal rift," Jack said thoughtfully.

"Exactly!" the Doctor said.

"You aren't making any sense!" Donna said exasperatedly.

"I'm making perfect sense; you're just not keeping up," the Next Doctor said

"Keep it up baby-face and I'll punch you _in_ it!" Donna warned.

"I believe it!" The Next Doctor said as River glared at her.

"Okay, so what does all this have to do with leaving Mandy on the Tardis while the rest of us are out saving the world, again?" Martha asked them.

Donna saw the Next Doctor and River exchange a long look before he answered.

"A long time ago I was here. Bad things happened and I made a terrible mistake. But somehow events got rewritten and they're happening to me again. I've been given a second chance to fix what I screwed up to begin with only now other creatures are messing with the events… I just need her out of the way until I can sort this stuff out," the Next Doctor told them.

Nobody knew what to say to that. This seemed to give them more questions to think about. After a long silent pause the Doctors launched into instructions.

"First of all we're going to have to split up. Jack, Martha you sort out the subway," the Doctor told them. "Figure out why they're kidnapping all those children and hiding them."

"Amy, Rory and River! We'll find those faeries. Figure out what they're doing here and where they're coming from…" the Next Doctor continued.

"What about me?" Donna asked.

"I want you with me," the Doctor said with a soft smile. "You never know when I may need you to pull my thick head out of a shaft or two."

"You got that right, spaceman," she said; deep down she was happy he'd chosen her to go with him specifically.

"What's their mission?" Amy asked the Next Doctor, pointing at the Doctor and Donna.

"They've got someone to find. Here, take these and we'll keep in touch."

The Next Doctor pulled out eight watches from his tweed jacket and handed one to each of them. There was one left over and he stuck it back in his pocket. They fastened the watches to their wrists and River showed them how to use them.

"They're communicators. Just press the button on the side and speak into it. We're all on the same frequency so you'll have to wait for the other person to stop talking before using yours," River explained.

With a quick goodbye everyone went their separate ways. Martha and Jack for the subway to investigate the unconscious children, the Next Doctor, River, Amy, and Rory to find the faeries, and Donna and the Doctor to do whatever it was they were supposed to do. Donna supposed he'd tell her eventually. Until then she followed him unquestioningly.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXMANDYXXX**

Three hours later I was getting tired. I'd followed the Tardis's hologram all over the place. I'd visited the beautiful greenhouse that had become a mini forest, overgrown and wild from lack of attention. I'd found at least four squash courts, more bathrooms than I could keep count of, and had fallen in love with the library. I'd found some sort of weird alien device and the Tardis had shown me how to use it.

Minutes later I'd uploaded a 'decide your destiny' book and placed the device on my head. It was the most entertaining thing I'd played with in my entire life. I could actually live through a book like a movie or video game, choosing what happened next and when it should end. I'd scared the blazes out of myself on the first try when I'd found a rather disturbing book about a serial killer, which I hadn't known it was about.

The sound of crying and screaming echoed somewhere in the Tardis and I looked around. I saw the hologram of the Tardis tilt her head in confusion. The hologram walked out of the room and I followed her all the way back to the control room. I realized the crying and screaming was coming from outside the Tardis. The screen on the control system lit up and I climbed the stairs to it.

Outside the box two little girls were screaming and crying, backed up against the doors as one of the bulwoggles I'd seen earlier that night snapped and growled at them. I looked around the control room frantically for something to fight it off with. Something fell over in the corner and I recognised the Doctor's giant hammer. I grabbed it and ran for the door.

The hologram materialized in front of me and waved me off in a 'no' motion. I heard the doors lock with a click.

"I can't leave them! They'll be killed, they're just kids!" I said. "Please! Let me out!"

The hologram turned and looked at the doors as the two little girls screamed again. I heard the Tardis doors unlock as she looked at me concernedly.

"I'll be careful and I'll come right back," I said pulling the Tardis doors open.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXMARTHAXXX**

"That's the last one," Jack said coming up the subway stairs.

A young boy disappeared into the darkness and Martha sighed. They'd spent the past two hours knocking out bulwoggles, tying them up, and waking and untying children from the ages of 8 to 14. They hadn't been able to get anything out of the creatures as to why they'd been kidnapping all the children but she was satisfied with getting them all home again.

"You alright?" Jack asked.

Martha turned and smiled reassuringly.

"Yeah, just thinking."

"They'll be fine. So long as they all go straight home."

"What? Oh, yeah. Right."

Jack stared at her weirdly and then he turned her towards him.

"What's going on in there, Martha?" he asked tapping her forehead with his finger. "You're never like this."

"I can't shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen…" she sighed. "It's like something nagging at me in the back of my mind."

"Like a sixth sense," he suggested.

"Exactly like that," she admitted. "But I suppose I'm just worrying over nothing."

"I've known you a while now Martha and I trust your judgment. If you think there's something we should be doing I'll help you out."

Martha smiled at him appreciatively. She nodded and started to walk down the alley.

"Hey, where are you going?" He hollered at her.

"Back to the Tardis. I think I need to check on Mandy."

Jack shrugged and jogged after her until he caught up. Together they disappeared into the dark in search of the Tardis and Mandy.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXWENDYXXX**

The bells tolled the two o'clock hour and two children dashed out of the large mansion laughing and playing.

"Peter! Where do you think you're going young man? You're chores aren't going to do themselves," Wendy called after them.

The little boy turned and gave her a pouty face in the bright moonlight. It was a clear night here on the island and he had been cooped up all evening doing studies.

"Aww, come on! Can't it wait till later?" Peter whined.

"Yeah, we wanna play hide-and-seek!" The little girl beside him agreed.

"Not you too! Ugh…" Wendy moaned.

This was the problem with being the oldest and the only one in charge. She was only fourteen but she was in charge of the other seven children. They didn't have parents, nor did they need them. Not when they had each other.

Suddenly the sound of an airplane roaring overhead split the air. Wendy looked up into the sky as it blocked the light of the moon as it passed. With a sputtering choke it started to go down banging and sparking. She felt her hands start to tremble in fear.

"What?" Peter wondered aloud, watching the plane disappear over the trees.

There was a loud crash and an explosion as the plane hit the ground and Wendy dropped to her knees hugging herself tightly, trying to block the memories bursting through her mind.

*flashback*

_The plane crashed on the beach and a twelve-year-old girl crawled away from the wreckage, crying and choking on smoke and sand. Her pretty dress, charred and torn, clung to her sweaty body and her blonde hair was tangled in the wind._

_A shadow crept over her and she looked up startled. An old man with a lab coat and large round glasses hovered over the girl, the sun glared off his lenses, blocking her from seeing his eyes which were wild and dangerous._

"_Come child," he said warmly. "I'll take care of you now."_

_He stretched his hand out to her and she took it trustingly, allowing herself to be pulled gently from her knees._

"_My mom…" she choked._

"_You won't need grownups anymore. This is an island just for children…"_

*flashback ends*

Peter turned to see Wendy shivering in the warm air, her eyes glistening with tears as she stared in terror at the billowing smoke rising from the beach.

"Wendy!" Peter cried and rushed to her.

"They're—they're coming…grownups…" Wendy said shakily.

She couldn't shake the terrible feelings the memories kept bringing back. She met Peter's eyes in terror but tried to give him some sort of a reassuring smile. Peter's eyes widened as a memory assaulted his mind…

*flashback*

_Peter, only eight at the time, was hidden in the darkness of the hallway. A door opened and he sulked deeper in the shadows, watching carefully. The bright fluorescent light cascaded into the hall and Wendy's silhouette stepped from it, the door closed behind her._

_Peter stepped out of the shadows and Wendy looked up in surprise and horror. Suddenly tears ran down her face and she opened her arms to him. Peter ran to her as she collapsed to her knees hugging him as she bursts into sobs._

_It was the first time he had seen her after she had come out of the experiments. He vowed silently, as she cried in agony, that no one would ever hurt her again. Not if he could help it._

*flashback ends*

"It'll be okay. I can take care of them. I won't let anyone else hurt you, never again!" Peter told her angrily.

Before she could react Peter ran off and disappeared into the darkness of the trees.

"Wait… Peter!" She called weakly.

Wendy forced herself to her feet and gave herself a physical shake. She was in charge now. It was her responsibility to protect them. She turned to the little girl beside her.

"Carly go get the others, right away," Wendy ordered.

"Right!" Carly said and ran off towards the back of the mansion.

"Just stay calm, Wendy," she whispered to herself.

Without a second thought Wendy took off after Peter, hoping she could reach him in time.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXTHENEXTDOCTORXXX**

"You think you could have put it down a bit more gently?" Rory asked River as she sorted through the wreckage of the plane.

"Quit whining Junior. At least we're still alive!" River told him.

"Junior?" Rory asked mockingly.

River tapped her gun suggestively and he nodded his head nervously and walked away. River grinned to herself as Amy laughed at him.

"So how are we supposed to get home?" Amy asked.

"Well that's a good question. Radio's broken too," River observed playing with the controls to the radio.

"What? Wait, are you telling me you've marooned us on this barren hunk of rock?" Rory shouted.

"Hey! It wasn't my idea to come to this place," River argued.

The Next Doctor was looking around the beach taking everything in. He whipped out his screwdriver and scanned the beach, read it, and flicked it back into his pocket. Curiosity got the better of him and he headed for the row of trees off the beach.

"You guys wait here, I want a look."

"That may not be a good idea, Doctor!" River called.

"It's a fine idea. Stay with Amy and Rory," he said.

Suddenly he turned around and tossed his sonic screwdriver at her. She caught it easily and waved thanks at him.

"Try to get that transmission radio working."

"We have the watches… why can't we just call the other Doctor or someone?" Amy asked.

"Nah, they have enough to do."

The Next Doctor wandered off and disappeared in the trees. Amy followed behind Rory as he moaned about the stupid things they got talked into when wandering with the Doctor. Amy finally got fed up with him and shoved him off his feet. He landed in the water spluttering as she laughed.

"Oh dear God! Why am I being tested this way?" Amy moaned dramatically, imitating Rory. "Why this trial? Why don't you just…"

Before anyone knew what had happened Amy collapsed to the ground with a groan of pain. A rock bounced onto the ground near her body and Rory yelled to her in horror.

"Amy! Are you alright?"

The Next Doctor came running out of the trees and crashed next to Rory beside her. River tossed him the screwdriver worriedly and he scanned Amy's head with it. Flicking it open to read it in a quick practiced move he shook his head.

"Oh, that's bad. Oh, that's very, very not good."

"What?" Rory asked panicking holding Amy's face in his hands trying to see something visibly wrong.

"Hey!" River called worriedly at the two of them on the ground. "She alive?"

"Yes, she's fine. Concussion, minor bruising, small cut… Just been knocked out. Who…?" the Next Doctor wondered aloud looking over the large rock beside her.

Another rock flew out of the bushes towards River and she caught it with one hand easily and without even turning her head she whipped it back. They heard a rough clunk as the rock connected with something and someone yelped in pain.

The Next Doctor and River dashed for the bushes to catch whoever was throwing the rocks. When they stepped through the brush they stopped surprised. A young girl was holding onto a younger boy in worry as he clutched his head with tears streaming down his face.

"Peter," she said worriedly before noticing they were there and gasping.

River shook her head as a big grin appeared on the Next Doctor's face.

"You're kiddin'. A couple of brats?" River asked him.

"No grownups allowed!" Peter yelled at them angrily.

The Next Doctor noticed that the older girl was shrinking away from them in terror. He acknowledged her quietly.

"It's alright. No grownups here, just a bunch of oversized kids!" he smiled happily.

"Do you live here?" River asked unhappily. "Where are your parents?"

"We don't _need_ parents! Now get outta here!" Peter yelled at her.

He jumped to his feet and ran at her swinging his small fists. She merely held her hand out keeping him away and shoved him backwards so as not to hurt him, he landed on his butt again with a groan.

The Next Doctor couldn't understand the boy's hostility towards the idea of grownups. He put his hands out and the older girl held Peter back beside her. He thought of Amy and Rory on the beach and frowned.

"You hit my friend. That wasn't very nice," the Next Doctor said disapprovingly.

"She deserved it!" the boy said defensively.

"Why? What did she do to you?"

"You aren't supposed to be here!" He yelled instead of answering.

River stood there impatiently crossing her arms and looked quite menacing. The Next Doctor placed his hands on her shoulders and whispered close to her ear.

"You aren't helping. Go help Amy and Rory."

She sighed and walked away mumbling, "I hate you…"

"No you don't!" he called after her happily.

"Go away!" Peter yelled at him.

Wendy put her hand over his mouth hushing him worriedly.

"What do you want?" she asked trying to sound older.

"We came to look for someone. But now I would appreciate it if we could get my friend over there an ice pack and something to lie on that isn't the sand 'til she comes 'round."

The girl looked him over.

"You're not like all the others…"

"No, I'm not," the Next Doctor agreed. "So?"

Peter was glaring at Wendy but she exchanged a look that he apparently understood and he looked away.

"You can bring her to the house."

"Excellent!" The Next Doctor said clapping his hands and heading back for the beach.

He stepped aside with Rory and River and talked to them before scooping Amy up and carrying her off the beach, following Wendy all the way up to the house.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXDONNAXXX**

The Doctor yanked on Donna's hand.

"Come on!" he yelled. "What are you doing? Pacing yourself?"

Donna stopped just long enough to raise a sandaled foot. All she'd had to choose from was sandals or heels back at the castle.

"It's not easy running in these things, y'know."

"Well, why did you wear 'em then?" he shouted.

"Because we were _supposed_ to be having a calm day at the mall. You didn't tell me I'd need combat gear."

The mob was gaining on them. From the quick glimpse she'd taken after the Doctor had grabbed her hand, Donna had been reminded of stampeding cattle, all wild eyes and mindless, headlong flight. But these 'cattle' were being driven not by cowboys but by lizard like monsters called bulwoggles. At their head, barking orders and occasionally firing a large alien gun into the air, was a scaly faced major with bristling hair and a peaked cap.

It was her own fault really, Donna thought. She supposed she should have known better. _Wherever_ she went with the Doctor she usually ended up running away from something. He was the sort of man who could find danger in a boxful of kittens.

When the Doctor had finally told her they were going undercover to the University Of Londinium Medical School to hunt down the mad scientist James Barrie she thought it'd be easy as P I E. Oh, how wrong she was. First they'd nearly got caught by security guards but, with the help of one sonic paper, got by with a simple warning. Then they'd gotten lost on the large campus and stumbled upon some sort of get together between vampires and bulwoggles. Then while trying to escape they'd _finally_, and accidentally, stumbled upon Professor James Barrie. He'd been DOA, stabbed through the back at his desk.

They really hadn't had time to investigate because the fact that they were going to get killed by two different species of aliens got first priority. So here they were, running like hell at the front of a mob of panicked university faculty, professors, and students.

She was doing her best to put one foot in front of the other as fast as she could, but it wasn't easy; her sandals were in constant danger of flying off. The Doctor was virtually pulling her arm out of its socket as he urged her to run faster, but it was all right for _him_. He had a snazzy alien metabolism – and he was wearing trainers!

Eventually the inevitable happened – she slipped. As her feet went in opposite directions, she lost her grip on the Doctor's hand. She managed to stay on her feet, but next thing she knew someone was barging into the back of her. Even as she was swept up in the crowd and carried along as if by a fast-flowing river, she heard the Doctor shouting her name.

"Donna!" the Doctor yelled again as the fleeing crowd caught up with them.

He tried to make his way through the throng towards her, but the people were too tightly packed, and too panicked by the growling creatures to allow him access. For a few seconds longer he glimpsed Donna's distinctive red hair, and then it became submerged in the melee. The Doctor decided the best thing for now was to go with the flow and pick up the pieces later.

Shoved and tousled in the crowd Donna hit her knees and was kicked in the head as they jumped over her, trying in vain not to step on or hurt her. She put her arms over her head until the mob had went past and when she dared to look up there was a creature she'd never seen before hovering dangerously over her, it's eyes and fangs dripping with blood.

Donna screamed.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**


	14. Chapter 14 being revised

**Author's Note: THIS CHAPTER WILL BE UPDATED SOON… you can of course continue reading if you wish, but eventually you'll want to come back and REREAD it because there may be some drastic changes in the chapter. Fair warning. As much as it may suck you may want to hold off and read more later. Don't worry, the update is scheduled for release by 6/1/13.**

**XXXXXCHAPTERFOURTEENXXXXX**

**XXXMANDYXXX**

I yanked the doors to the Tardis open and the two little girls tumbled inside startled. I didn't have time to help them up or explain as the giant bulwoggle hissed and charged. I squeezed my eyes shut and swung the giant hammer down on its head. I heard it thud to the ground and I risked opening an eye.

The bulwoggle's tongue was hanging out of its mouth as blood gushed from the crack in its skull. The youngest girl screamed in terror when she saw me holding the hammer and splattered with the thing's blood. I dropped it quickly.

"Are you alright?" I asked the girls and dropping beside them.

The oldest girl had long brown hair and big brown eyes, she looked around thirteen and she launched herself at me before I could react.

"Thank you!" she said tearfully. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"It's alright, I've got you," I said patting her back.

I looked at the younger girl; red hair, big blue eyes, and terrified into silence. I untangled myself from the older girl and pulled the smaller one towards me. She didn't say anything as I pulled her into my lap. She couldn't have been more than eight.

"Are you alright, sweetheart?" I asked.

I wasn't surprised when she didn't say anything, just stared inside the large Tardis and then back at the bulwoggle.

"We were going home," the older girl said. "This man and woman saved us! We were locked in some weird underground tunnel with big metal carriages. There were more of those things but they hit them too and tied them all up instead…"

She talked and talked and talked until I finally hushed her.

"What's your name?" I asked her.

"Petronilla," she told me. "And we really need to go home. But she doesn't have a home to go to. She was in an orphanage but it was destroyed by those monster things. They killed almost everyone. I was going to take her home to momma to ask if she could stay with us. And…"

"What's your name sweetheart?" I asked the small girl in my arms.

She looked up at me and then down at my dress. I could see her little brain working a mile a minute. Her young brain overwhelmed with so many thoughts.

"Are you a princess?" she asked finally.

At first I didn't understand the question but then I realized I was dressed in very expensive fabrics for this time, I'd look like nobility to her. I smiled at her, ignoring Petronilla who was still prattling on, and readjusted the beautiful gown. Sometimes a bit of fantasy and imagination could distract a child from reality so I'd give her a little fantasy right now.

"That's right," I told her. "And I'm going to get you someplace safe alright? Those monsters are being rounded up by my… subjects… right now…"

"…Her names Maud. But she never says much. She won't even talk to me and I've played with her loads of times in the street," Petronilla interrupted.

I sighed. I looked around the Tardis. I couldn't keep them here… could I? I supposed they'd be safer here. I looked down into little Maud's eyes, full of wonder and fear. She didn't seem to feel comfortable here in the Tardis. No, they couldn't stay.

"Alright girls, I'll take you home." I said.

"Can't we stay here? Wait, where is here? How do you fit all this in? What's that?" Petronilla asked animatedly.

Apparently she got over things pretty fast. I ushered the two girls out of the Tardis and didn't know how to close the door without moving the bulwoggle. I didn't have time to decide what to do because a roar pierced the air behind us. We turned in horror to see another bulwoggle slinking out of the shadows.

I grabbed Maud into my arms and took Petronilla's hand in my own and raced the opposite direction.

"Come on," I hollered. "Run!"

We ran through alleys, dodged carts and barrels, and ran some more. We didn't dare stop. We could hear the creature stomping behind us, tearing anything that got in its way apart. Up ahead I noticed a shed of some kind with the door open and raced for it. I tugged Petronilla inside and shut the door. I crouched in the corner holding the two girls to me as we heard the bulwoggle snorting and growling, trying to pick up our scent.

Breathing was difficult inside the shed. It was filled with onions, leeks, and potatoes to the brim. It must be a storage shed for a gardener, I thought. Hopefully it would cover our smell. Maud whimpered in my arms as the bulwoggle's shadow passed the sheds window. I clutched the girls closer, willing them to stay quiet as we silently prayed it wouldn't find us.

The sound of howling split the air as two large hounds came barreling out of an alley and went straight for the creature's throat. I held my breath as I listened to them fighting. I don't know how much time passed but eventually the bulwoggle retreated and we couldn't hear it anymore. We waited for what seemed like forever before I whispered to the girls to get up. I opened the shed door carefully and looked around. The two dogs sat happily beating their tails in the dust and I pet them thankfully.

"You're good dogs, aren't you?" I told them.

"Is it gone?" Petronilla asked quietly.

"I think so," I whispered back. "But we have to be quiet. Where do you live?"

"Down that way," the girl said pointing.

"Okay, then let's go."

We walked in silence for a while before Petronilla started in talking again. Thankfully she was very quiet about it, obviously sensing that if we weren't we'd be lizard food. Maud had pulled the hood of her shirt up onto her head, hiding her face. She was trailing close behind, practically stepping on my skirts.

"Do you believe in angels?" Petronilla asked randomly.

I frowned.

"It's an ancient and commonly held belief," I replied cautiously.

I hated discussing politics and religions. Petronilla's eyes were fixed on mine.

"Some people believe that everyone has an angel to guard their body and soul," she continued. "And I'm told there are hierarchies of angels just as there are hierarchies of people." She paused. "I'm also told that Archangels are the ones who carry out God's will and lesser angels exist to perform minor tasks for us in everyday life."

"Yes, I've heard that too." I said noncommittal.

"But," Petronilla went on importantly, "as well as being helpers in a kindly way, angels also punish us. That's right, isn't it?"

"So some people say." Wondering where this was leading, I wouldn't go any further than that.

Petronilla continued. "Angels have work to do like everyone else in the world, and when they see someone break the laws of compassion and respect they calmly and without any anger chastise the transgressor to help them become better people."

"That's another common belief."

I led the way down a short incline between trees and houses while Petronilla, Maud and the two hounds jostled at my heels, but Petronilla caught up with me and began to trot by my side.

"Sometimes," she continued, "their punishment is so harsh it takes the form of death, or so I'm told. After that the evil-doer has to go down into hell where their impure soul is cleansed by the most horrible fires to make it ready to return to the world of humans. The hope is that it can live a better life than the one it forfeited. The angels," she continued, as if having learned the words by rote, "are the true protectors of our souls. By their help we can attain the reward of everlasting joy in the heavenly paradise that awaits."

When I made no comment she turned to Maud who was still following close behind and said, "So you do see, don't you, my dear little Maud, there's no need to plan revenge on those violent monsters as I'm sure you would like to and as I most certainly would, because the angels will do it for you. That is their law. They punish evil-doers. And no one can escape their terrible vengeance."

Maud, her hood still up, walked on in silence.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXTHEDOCTORXXX**

The Doctor was wandering through the halls of the now deserted university. He was hoping to find Donna. He hadn't meant to lose her in the crowd.

He back tracked through the halls searching for anything that could tell him where she may have wandered off to. He knew he was hoping for too much by staring at the ground waiting for bread crumbs.

He'd gone back to search the room where they'd stumbled upon Professor James Barrie but the body had been removed. There wasn't a trace left in the office to show anyone had _ever_ been in it. The paperwork was gone, the books were neatly stacked, everything clean. How they'd managed to do it all in less than twenty minutes surprised him.

The Doctor stopped outside a room and took a deep breath to calm his nerves. He knew Donna all too well, she'd be screaming her head off or threatening bodily damage if she was being held hostage in this school. If she wasn't she'd still be hollering for him. As it was the place was silent, even quieter than a graveyard. Okay, so he particularly wished that thought hadn't come to mind.

A scent drifted past his sense and his head whipped towards the hall to his right. He could smell the faint sweet scent of cherry blossoms and honey that he knew to be distinctly Donna's. He took off, his long legs carrying him at an incredible speed. He stopped in the middle of the hall where the scent was strongest but it was fading fast. He looked all around and then stared at the floor.

The Doctor dropped to his knees as he caught a glimpse of metal. It was the Tardis key and chain that Donna wore around her neck. And if she wasn't wearing it… the Doctor jumped up slightly manic.

"Donna!?" he yelled as loudly as he could.

His voice echoed through the halls but there was no answer.

"Oh, Donna…" he groaned rubbing his hand on the back of his neck.

What was he going to do now?

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXMANDYXXX**

I was just leaving the children's house, having explained to Petronilla's parents about Maud and the two dogs that had saved our lives. They had agreed happily to keep all three. I had noticed first off that Petronilla's family was a wealthy one. So I needn't worry about that I supposed. But as I was heading back the way I'd come something crept out of the shadows behind me. A soft wind blew my direction and the smell hit me.

I felt my hearts begin their rapid pounding again and instinctively I hiked up the dress, which I realised I should have taken the time to change whilst on the Tardis, and ran like hell. I heard a dark laugh behind me as whatever it was kept pace with me easily. Whatever it was it could have caught me in seconds but it didn't, it sped up and then fell back. It was toying with me I realised.

I dared to look back and caught the glimpse of some form of wings, red eyes, and a gleaming white smile. I panicked and forced myself to go faster. Suddenly the creature landed directly in front of me, reaching out its clawed hands. I screamed as I dug my heels into the dirt and one slipped off. I didn't have time to put it back on and so I kicked the other one off at its face and ran the opposite direction.

The rocks and dirt sliced my feet as I ran faster, I whipped open the door to an empty shop and ran head first into a desk. I stumbled, panicked, and looked around for anything to use as a weapon. It was just a simple office, nothing but books and lamps.

The creature entered the door behind me and I turned to look at it. It grinned.

"You can't possibly hope to escape," it sneered.

"Are you going to kill me?" I couldn't stop myself from asking.

The humanlike creature shrugged. I glanced behind me and stared at the only thing in reach, a heavy paperweight shaped like an elephant.

"Probably," it admitted indifferently.

"Who are you?" I asked trying to keep it talking.

"My name… is Felic," it answered.

"What are you?"

"I'm what's called a Crusnik. And I, my dear, have been waiting for you," he told me.

"Why me?" I asked surprised.

"Oh, surely you know," he said mockingly. "No? Oh, well this is interesting…"

I tried to inch my way around the desk but he warned me with his claws to stay still. I did.

"If you are going to kill me why don't you just do it?"

"Where's the fun in that. I've spent all this time looking for you I plan on enjoying my victory as long as possible…"

"Please…" I turned my back on him and clutched the paperweight tight in my shaking hands. "Just make it quick."

I braced myself for the scuffle of its claw-like feet on the floorboards, praying I had enough time to react when- But already Felic was rushing forward. I turned round, swinging the paperweight with all my strength. The smooth white stone cracked against the Crusnik's fleshy temple. It hissed in pain, the blow making it stagger and fall off balance into the bookshelf. I tried to run past it, but it raised its foot to trip me. I fell to the floor with a hoarse yell, tried to clamber away out of reach, but now Felic had hold of my foot. I writhed in its grip, shouting out, trying to pull free…

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXTHENEXTDOCTORXXX**

The Next Doctor had settled Amy down on a couch, still knocked out, and left the room. He sat down at the dining room table looking around. The dining room in the large mansion was directly attached to what was obviously a play room, large and full of toys.

"So I guess what I heard was true," the Next Doctor said to Wendy who was pouring him a cup of tea. "Professor Barrie really does love children. And he took you all in here and gave you a home?"

"Yes, I was taken in as orphan, as well. One sugar or two?" she asked.

"I'll have just one thank-you," he said watching her closely.

"Here," she offered him his cup.

"Ah, thank-you very much," he took a drink and then pulled the cup away seemingly impressed. "That's great! I've never tasted anything like this. Young lady you really know how to brew a cup of tea."

She smiled awkwardly seemingly pleased and still uncomfortable.

"Thank you," she said politely.

"I suppose the Professor is on the mainland. Are you children okay here by yourselves?"

"Oh, we can handle the cooking and cleaning. You'd be surprised how well we can look after ourselves…"

The Next Doctor felt his vision blur and he shook his head trying to clear it. Something was wrong, very wrong. Something was inhibiting his enzymes. He realised suddenly that he had been laced with something. He looked at Wendy sharply.

"But forget about us," Wendy continued as if she hadn't noticed him at all. "I'd like to know something more about you, Doctor…"

"What about me?" the Next Doctor asked coldly.

Wendy slipped onto his lap and placed her hands on either side of his face. He felt the drugs taking over; he shook his head violently, trying in vain to focus. There was no way he could find the ingredients he'd need to reverse the process in time.

Wendy smiled knowingly and stroked the side of his face.

"Who are you really? Who sent you here?"

"My name is… the Doctor. Time Lord. I come from the planet Gallifrey… Wait!" he said shaking his head trying to clear it.

"Everything's fine, Doctor. Now tell me… Why are you interested in us? What's your mission?"

"To get rid of… the vampires… attacking ships. Times colliding… friends…danger," he used his final bit of energy to knock her from his lap and tipped his tea cup over. It spilled slowly as if mocking him for not realising sooner.

"Truth serum," he groaned.

"So you came all the way here to kill us? What else?" She asked getting to her feet.

"Amy… Don't touch Amy…" he shuddered as he clung to the table trying in vain to stay awake.

"Huh. You're regaining consciousness. I guess the dose was too small."

Wendy walked away towards the darker end of the room and he watched her angrily, sinking to his knees.

"I'm sorry, Doctor. You won't be able to say goodbye to your friend Amy… ever."

"What do… you mean," he placed his palms on the floor trying to force his body to reverse the process.

When the Doctor looked up Wendy was surrounded by seven other children. Slowly their eyes began to shift and glow red, their fangs elongating and their wings uncurling from their backs.

"This island belongs to us now. And we have one rule; no grownups allowed."

The Next Doctor groaned as he slumped to the floor, losing all consciousness.

"This kingdom is only for children…" Wendy smiled turning towards the room where Amy was still unconscious.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXRIVERXXX**

On the beach Peter had fallen asleep and was having a nightmare, the only problem was it wasn't just a nightmare; it was a memory that would haunt him forever.

In the dream he was walking towards the door; opened just a crack and only enough to peek through. It was the room that the Professor did his experiments in at night. He walked towards the door and peered in the crack. What he saw inside was Wendy, his Wendy; strong, brave, and loving Wendy. And what the Professor was doing…

Peter woke up screaming and called for her in confusion, "Wendy?"

Peter shook his head as River went over to see that he was okay. Rory was pacing near the plane waiting for the Doctor to come back with Amy. He'd asked them to wait here while he did some snooping. River had had a bad feeling about that.

"I can't believe I got beat by an old lady," Peter grumbled.

River, deciding he was just fine arched an eyebrow at him.

"Who are you calling old, shorty?" she teased. "Did you really think a kid could beat an adult?"

"Just you wait, I'll be tall someday," Peter said getting to his feet and looking up at her. "Taller than you!"

"And what are you going to do when you're tall?" she asked him curiously.

"Protect Wendy!" he said agitatedly. "I mean, protect everyone…"

"Wendy? Oh, so you and she…" River suddenly got it and laughed.

That was the cutest thing. This little boy couldn't be more than twelve but he was already in love. How adorable was that. She suddenly noticed that Peter was looking quite defeated at being laughed at. She stopped laughing immediately and shifted on her feet guiltily.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have laughed," she told him kneeling in front of him. "Look. Tall, short, that's not what matters, understand? If you…"

Oh, she was not good at this…

"If you love a girl, well then, you stand up for her with all you've got no matter what. If you can do that, well then you're a man no matter how tall you are."

He looked down at the ground sadly, his shoulders slumping further. She placed her hand on his blonde head and gave him an encouraging smile.

"Hey, look. You're not going to have anything to worry about. In a few years, with a little work, you'll be plenty tall."

"Really?" he asked her unsure. "Do you think I'm going to be as tall as you are now?"

"Well, maybe an inch or two shorter than me," River laughed.

"Do you really mean it?" he asked excitedly.

"I really mean it. Now, if you're feeling better could you get the Doctor for me? You know – the goofy looking guy with the bow tie and tweed jacket?"

"You got it!" He said happily and running off.

Peter stopped and turned to her again.

"You know, I was a failed project. I never thought I could be any good. Not like the successful prototypes. But now I'll work hard! I'll work hard and I'll grow to be strong just like you!" He turned again and ran up the beach, disappearing into the trees.

"Failed project?" River mumbled to herself.

A sudden explosion drew her attention and she jumped out of the way just in time as something shot towards her, kicking up sand and leaving a long crevice in its wake. She shot to her feet whipping out her gun and aiming it at three faeries that were hovering in the air. Rory ran towards her to put some distance between himself and them.

"Faeries," River told him.

"You're pretty fast for an adult. Here I come!" Carly said happily as she used wicked speed to launch herself into the ground and barreled towards them, sand exploding everywhere.

Rory and River barely made it out of the way. She shoved Rory towards the trees.

"Get out of here!" she yelled and shot at the largest faery, a fat little boy with a wicked gleam.

"Thomas!" Carly screamed as his body went down, splashing into the water.

"You saved me the trouble of finding you. You wanna play tag, we'll play tag. I'll be it," River said drawing their attention and giving Rory time to get out of there.

"You rotten grownup! You'll pay for that!" the other faery yelled as they surrounded her.

"Die, witch!" Carly said her body getting an unnatural glow.

River realised they were using their wings to create vibrations in the air. They were using ultrasonic waves to disorient her; this gave her a train of thought to follow... Ultrasonic waves… She braced herself for the attack she knew would come. The faeries grinned and without giving her so much as a chance to blink, went in for the kill.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXMARTHAXXX**

When Martha and Jack finally found the Tardis they stopped in surprise. The Tardis door was left wide open and lying on the ground in the fully lit doorway was a bulwoggle.

"Oh my god!" Martha said racing for the doors.

When they reached it they noticed that its head had been bashed in.

"Dead," Jack observed.

"Do you think it was Mandy?" Martha asked kicking aside the hammer.

"Could've been… Mandy?" Jack hollered into the Tardis.

There was no answer.

"Mandy are you here?" Martha called running deeper into the control room.

"There are millions of rooms in this thing. It could take days to find her if she is," Jack said exasperatedly.

"No, look!" Martha said in front of the Tardis's main screen. "We're the only life sources in here right now."

Jack looked at it and then pressed the button on his communicator.

"Doctor? We have trouble."

There was no answer.

"Doctor? Donna? Rory? Anyone?" Jack said more insistently.

"_Jack is that you?_" the Doctor's voice asked.

"Yeah. Where are you?" Jack asked.

"_I'm at the University of Londinium, I lost Donna_," he replied.

"How? Was she alright?" Jack asked worriedly.

"_She was fine, we just got separated. But what's wrong? You said you had trouble._"

"We do," Martha said using her own communicator. "Mandy's missing."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXMANDYXXX**

When I woke up I had no idea where I was, but I knew I was in trouble. I pulled at the chains attached to each of my wrists which were welded to the walls on either side of me. I felt my head give a throbbing ache where I'd been hit over the head and I winced.

Where was I? I looked around but couldn't actually see anything. There were no lights whatsoever, except one tiny blinking red light way up over my head. In the dark I panicked. I was terrified of the dark. And if the dark wasn't bad enough I was chained. Chained in the dark like an animal. I screamed, panicking.

"Let me out!"

There was no sound but I knew that someone, somewhere, was watching me.

"The Doctor is coming!" I screamed at them. "He won't let you get away with this!"

I didn't know if that was true or not. For all I knew it would be hours before anyone went back to the Tardis and realised I was gone and by then who knew? I could already be dead. This thought scared the hell out of me and screamed over and over again wrenching at the chains, ignoring the sharp pain of the shackles cutting into my skin.

Suddenly a door opened and a bright light blinded me. Before my eyes had the chance to focus I felt something hard connect with my head and again everything was just dark…

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXDONNAXXX**

"Oi!" shouted Donna as the glare subsided, leaving sparkly traces on her vision. "What was—"

She stopped as she realised that somehow they'd managed to redecorate the University in the few seconds that she'd been blinded. Instead of a narrow hallway with a shiny black floor and white walls, they'd turned it into a larger, spookier space, all purply-black swirls. It began to dawn on her that maybe – just maybe – she wasn't in the school any more…

Donna spun on her heel as a door hissed open somewhere behind her. She came face to face with the creature that had abducted her in the hallway. It looked human, but she knew it wasn't. It had to be a vampire because it was deathly pale, had red eyes, _and_ fangs. Yup, she was pretty sure it was most definitely a vampire.

"Who's she?" the creature asked someone across the room.

Donna suddenly realised there were two of those lizard things in here with her, bulwinkles or some such.

"_She_," snapped back Donna, "is the cat's mother. Who are _you_?"

"Hold her," said the man, sneering down at her.

Suddenly Donna felt steel bands tighten around her upper arms and looked to see that the two bulwinkles had grabbed her. No one, she thought, should be able to hold that hard.

"Gerroff!" she grunted, squirming.

"Who is she?" asked the man, almost as if she weren't there.

"I'm a woman who happens to know a man who's going to be very unhappy when he gets back and finds out what you've done."

"She was seen snooping with the skinny man with the sonic paper," the bulwoggle informed him. "She saw the professor. We brought her through the transmat."

"I am here, you know," snapped Donna. "I can speak for myself." She paused. "Transmat? I've just been _transmatted_?"

"Clearly," said the man in a weary voice.

He stared at her with pale red eyes that were almost as cold and dead as those of the bulwoggles. He wore a lapelless, dark grey business suit with a crisp shirt, striped with red and black horizontal bands. Something about him made her think of estate agents.

"Who are you anyway?" Donna demanded. "When the Doctor finds out, you're going to be in big trouble."

"You aren't the only one calling for him at the moment," he said cryptically.

"Oh, ha, ha. Very funny." Donna twisted her neck around to try to find the Doctor, but she realised that she'd been transmatted alone.

Her head snapped back round to face the creepy man.

"What have you done?" she growled. "Where am I? Who are you?"

The man paused, his eyes narrowed.

"My name is Felic, also known as Crusnik 01, and you're aboard my ship. Who are you?"

"Donna Noble. Spelle if you don't put me back _exactly_ where I was. Now."

Felic chewed thoughtfully at the corner of his mouth.

"No," he said eventually. "I don't think so."

His eyes flicked to the bulwoggles flanking her.

"Put her somewhere safe." He looked back at her. "I'm tempted to have you killed now, but something makes me think I should keep a hold of you for a while."

He walked across the room and pressed some buttons on a large computer station and a giant screen popped up like a television and what Donna saw made her stomach drop. Mandy was chained in a pitch dark room screaming; the only thing making her visible was the help of a night vision camera.

"Oh, mister," said Donna, struggling as the bulwoggles began to lead her away. "You have made one _helluva_ mistake. Just you wait 'til the Doc- ow! Get your hands off me!"

But the bulwoggles took no notice, and half led, half dragged her from the room. Leaving Felic to enjoy the horror that was unfolding on his monitor.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXTHENEXTDOCTORXXX**

As the Next Doctor slowly came to he felt the instant panic hit him. Where was River? Amy? Rory? He should have known they weren't just children. He hadn't realised that they could shift form so easily. Oh, he had been so stupid. Stupid, stupid Doctor! He would have smacked himself in the forehead if he wasn't chained to some sort of a hard table…

His eyes shot open and was temporarily blinded by a bright medical table light glaring down at him. A head leaned over him and he felt a hand cover his mouth. He tried to holler at the person but they shushed him to be quiet.

"Shh! Be quiet," Peter said. "I'm gonna get you out of here. Just a minute."

The Next Doctor felt the braces on his wrists release as Peter sliced through them with a knife. He sat up and quickly located his sonic screwdriver, tucked safely in his tweed pocket.

"Everybody here hates grownups. If you don't leave quickly the others will kill you all. I'll help you, but take me with you. I don't wanna stay here anymore!" Peter said.

The Next Doctor rubbed his wrists and nodded his head. "Fair enough."

The Next Doctor followed Peter through the mansion and into an underground cave. They walked a ways before the Doctor noticed something disturbing. Ahead there were little monuments sticking out of the ground beside the small stream that flowed through the cave.

"Where are we?" the Next Doctor asked scanning the dozens of monuments with his screwdriver.

"These are the failures, like me. They couldn't be converted. It killed them."

"Converted," he repeated feeling his temper flare. "Artificially created vampires. That's what I'd been afraid of before we even got here. So Professor James Barrie…"

"Things he did to us. Blood transfusions, every day, sometimes two or three times a day. Operations, strange things buried in our bodies. It never stopped."

Peter paused, his pupil's dilating and his eyes blurring over as he remembered the dreams and memories of the day he'd first seen Wendy being experimented on.

"It was worse for Wendy. She was like his pet project," Peter pictured her running towards him, her arms open, crying. "That's why everyone hates grownups and wants to stay a kid forever."

He turned and looked at the Next Doctor who was oddly silent.

"But I want to grow up tall and strong. So I can protect Wendy. Because Wendy is always kind, even to a failure like me."

Peter and the Next Doctor walked on in silence. They eventually made it out of the cave and nearly to the beach when some children blocked their path, Wendy standing further ahead of them.

Peter stopped startled, knowing he would be in trouble for letting the 'prisoner' out.

"Peter? Where are you going?" Wendy asked him slowly.

She used her powers to fly closer, and Peter looked up at her surprised.

"Wendy…"

"It's all right. I know you meant well," she said opening her arms to him the same way she had so long ago, when she'd come out of that room.

Peter went to her without question.

"Wait!" the Next Doctor yelled.

He tried to stop him but it was too late. He heard the sound of skin breaking as Wendy stabbed the small boy in the stomach. He heard the boy's gasp for air in surprise. Peter slipped to the ground at the girl's feet and stayed there, blood pooling at his shirtfront.

"You just had to grow up didn't you? If you'd only stayed a child. Foolish boy…"

The Next Doctor felt the anger in him surge. His hands shook with barely contained fury. He stepped towards her but had to duck for cover as the faeries launched themselves at him at Wendy's signal. He hated what came next. He'd taken careful precaution at sneaking a gun into his pocket when they'd been sneaking out of the mansion. He'd never wanted to have to use violence before. He never, ever, would shoot to kill. He pulled the gun from his pocket and taking careful aim at the two closest faeries. He shot their wings and watched them drop.

"That boy trusted you! He loved you! He risked everything for you! He would have been a good man," the fury surged through him. "You have no right to look down on him!"

He wouldn't kill. By taking out the artificial wings they couldn't fly, they wouldn't be able to make them work with them damaged. That was what Professor Barrie had transplanted into them, artificial wings. It would sting them but eventually they wouldn't feel it all.

"I don't need your sermon! Tinkerbell Coordination System activate!" Wendy screamed in anger.

Her wings unfurled from her back as she rose into the air and her body began to glow. The Next Doctor noticed that at the bell tower beside the mansion a light began to glow with her. Suddenly the other faeries began to light up and rise into the air beside her. He couldn't figure out how she was controlling them and until he did he was in big trouble.

Without saying a word or so much as blinking the faeries launched themselves at him one by one. He barely had time to react as each one struck him in the back as he turned to get out of the way. He gasped for air as even his respiratory bypass wasn't able to keep up with the sheer stress of being knocked around over and over again.

"How can they react so quickly?" he wondered aloud trying to sort it all out.

"Everyone is me, and I am everyone. They think my thoughts and I guide their actions. You see? Or shall I show you?"

The Next Doctor knew what came next and as a group the faeries attacked him all at once sending him flying and careening into the closest tree. He managed to look up to see the gleeful smile on Wendy's face, completely driven with hatred.

"Goodbye grownup. When you shake hands with the devil tell him I said hello."

A sudden explosion made the ground shake and the sound of the large bell ringing drew their attention. In the distance smoke was billowing up as the bell tower groaned and rocked as it began to crumble apart.

"Oh no! The Tinkerbell System!" Wendy cried.

The Next Doctor smiled proudly. He knew if he gave Amy, Rory, and River enough time they'd be able to figure it out. He watched thankfully as the tower began to disappear below the trees. Then he noticed River coming out of the trees.

"A master-slave telepathic tactical control system. The bell used ultrasonic waves to broadcast her thoughts to the other faeries so she could control them," River told him aiming her gun at the faeries.

The Next Doctor had never been so happy to see her. She gave him a sideways glance and smiled.

"But if there's no bell, there's no control." River continued as the faeries began to lower to the ground as if they were falling asleep. "Play time's over kid, and your grounded. Amy! Finish it off!" she yelled into the communicator at her wrist.

The bell exploded entirely and it rang through the air as the entire mansion and tower collapsed upon itself. Wendy screamed in anger and launched herself towards River who never even blinked. River pulled the trigger, the first bullet went through her wing, the second through her stomach and she dropped.

The Next Doctor ran to stop River as she took aim again.

"No! Don't!" He yelled. "You don't have to kill them!"

"Get out of the way!" River yelled angrily.

"No! Don't you dare! You destroyed the tower, they can't hurt anyone anymore!"

"Tell that to Amy who has fang holes in her neck!" she yelled back, she shoved past the Doctor and stopped, startled, when she saw that Peter had thrown himself on top of Wendy's body.

"Pe…ter?" Wendy choked.

"Please. Don't kill Wendy," he pleaded.

"Peter. Get away from there," River ordered.

Peter struggled to his feet holding his stomach which was entirely covered in blood. The Next Doctor rushed to his side to help him put pressure on it, hoping to stop the bleeding. Peter pushed him away looking up at River.

"Wendy's not really bad. She's kind. This is all Professor Barrie's fault," he said crying. "He twisted her just like the rest of us."

Wendy clutched her own bleeding stomach and looked at him sadly as the first tear fell.

"Peter… It doesn't matter. Our time in Neverland has come to an end. Just like the storybook…"

Peter shook his head at her, tears rolling down his cheeks. He turned back to River clutching her shirt front in his bloody hands.

"You're strong! You've gotta help us! You've gotta save Wendy!" He pleaded.

The Next Doctor knew that River was battling her own war inside. He could see the conflicting emotions on her face. The faeries had been killing for weeks, they'd hurt him and Amy, and Wendy had stabbed Peter. As far as River was concerned she didn't deserve pity. But River had seen a lot, and she wasn't the person to kill for revenge or out of anger, _usually_.

"River… put the gun away," the Next Doctor told her softly.

"Peter! For Heaven's sake get away from there!" Wendy screamed at him.

The Next Doctor placed his hands on her stomach and put all the pressure he could on her gunshot and he saw River's face fall. She put the gun away and grabbed Peter into her arms.

"Let's get them some real medical help. I fixed the radio and already called an emergency ship. Let's take them to the beach. Amy and Rory are meeting us there."

The Next Doctor looked at her and smiled. This was why he loved her as much as he did…

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXTHEDOCTORXXX**

The Doctor was just leaving the University when the communicator at his wrist came to life.

"_Doctor? We have trouble._"

The Doctor tried to recognise the voice. The communicator distorted it strangely. He was reaching for the button to answer when it came on again.

"_Doctor? Donna?Rory? Anyone?_" the voice asked more insistently.

"Jack is that you?" the Doctor asked.

"_Yeah. Where are you?_" Jack asked.

"I'm at the University of Londinium, I lost Donna," he replied stepping out of the main doors and onto the street.

"_How? Was she alright?_" Jack asked worriedly.

"She was fine, we just got separated. But what's wrong? You said you had trouble."

The Doctor didn't need to add to the troubles. He'd find Donna no problem, he always did. And from the sounds of it Donna being MIA at the moment would be the least of his problems.

"_We do_," he heard Martha's voice say over the communicator. "_Mandy's missing_."

The Doctor felt his hearts rise into his throat and he groaned. He hated it when he was right…

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXMARTHAXXX**

"_What do you mean Mandy is missing!_" the Next Doctor's voice yelled from the communicators.

"I _mean_, we came to the Tardis to check on her and the door was left wide open. There's a dead bulwoggle in the doorway," Jack told them.

There was a long silence as no one said anything for a long time.

"_Umm, guys?_" a whisper came over the communicator. "_Can you be a bit quieter?_"

"_Donna? Is that you?_" the Doctor asked. "_Where are you?_"

"_Umm, well. It's kind of hard to say. But Mandy isn't missing…_"

"_What do you mean? Is she with you_?" the Next Doctor asked.

"_No. But wherever we are, we're in the same ship. They have her on the monitors_," Donna's voice choked.

"Who has her?" Jack asked. "Where are you?"

"_I don't know_… _some vampire called Felix. We're both locked in different cells._"

"_Donna, what do they look like_?" River asked joining the communication.

"_Umm, people. Pale. Their eyes are red and they have fangs but there's something stranger about them_…"

"_Tell me what you know_," the Next Doctor told her.

"_Well, there's only one of them. But he's in control of the bulwoggles."_

"_Did he tell you his name specifically?_" the Doctor asked

"_Yeah, he called himself Crusnik 01_," Donna said.

There was silence.

"What's a crusnik?" Martha asked into the communicator.

"_A vampire_," was the Doctor's cold reply.

"_A vampire that feeds off from the blood of other vampires_," River corrected.

"Okay, so what does it want with Donna and Mandy?" Jack asked into the communicator.

"_I'm guessing we're interfering with their plans. It brought me here cause we were snooping at the University,_" Donna told him.

"_Donna, there's a switch on the back of the communicator. Push it up_," River instructed.

There was silence and then Donna came back.

"_Okay, now what_?"

"_Now, Martha spin the dial on the Tardis screen clockwise three times_," the Next Doctor ordered.

Martha reached up and spun it. The screen changed to a map of space, a little red light was flashing.

"Alright, I see a light flashing on a map," Martha said.

"_Good. Now set it to 175% view_…"

Martha did and the map changed. She could now see the exact area the dot was blinking from. She could even make out all the details of it.

"Okay. I've got it," Martha told him. "It's some sort of a ship hovering in space."

"_The light is Donna. Now that we have the coordinates we can find her and therefore find Mandy. We've taken care of the faeries and are on our way back. Everyone meet at the Tardis and wait until I get there_," the Next Doctor ordered.

Martha was busy chewing her nails out of nervous habit. She had known something bad was going to happen. She silently cursed herself for not doing something before it got to this point. Mandy _and_ Donna had been kidnapped. And now the Doctor was walking back on his own, she knew he'd probably be fine but he was the most danger prone alien she'd ever met. Oh, and to make matters worse they had a dead alien in the doorway of the Tardis.

"_I'm on my way back to the Tardis now. Donna are you alright_?" the Doctor asked worriedly.

"_Yeah, of course. I just got thumped upside the head by a lizard and am now being held hostage while watching a giant monitor through the window as Mandy… never mind. I'm fine_." Donna said losing her sarcasm.

"_You can actually _see_ Mandy_?" the Doctor asked. "_On a monitor_?"

"_They've got her chained up in a room somewhere; they have surveillance set up or somethin'_."

"_Okay. Be careful. We're coming for you_."

"_Yeah. Don't worry, I'll just twiddle my thumbs and count the cracks in the ceiling_."

"_That's a girl_," the Doctor said.

The communicators went silent again.

"We should move that and shut the door," Jack said motioning to the dead bulwoggle.

"Yeah," she agreed. "I'll help you."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**


	15. Chapter 15 being revised

**Author's Note: THIS CHAPTER WILL BE UPDATED SOON… you can of course continue reading if you wish, but eventually you'll want to come back and REREAD it because there may be some drastic changes in the chapter. Fair warning. As much as it may suck you may want to hold off and read more later. Don't worry, the update is scheduled for release by 6/8/13.**

**XXXXXCHAPTERFIFTEENXXXXX**

**XXXDONNAXXX**

Donna was starting to get worried. Seriously worried. Fair enough, travelling with the Doctor had its share of troubles. Getting separated from him on this scale wasn't usually one: normally, she had a fair idea of where she was, where he was. And she could usually rely on him finding her pretty quickly.

But this felt different.

She had no idea where she was. Heck, she had no idea where the ship could have gone in the time since she'd been transmatted. She could be twumpty billion light years from earth, or something.

Most of the other places that she'd been since she'd teamed up, again, with the Doctor had felt vaguely familiar: Pompeii had been a bit like a theme park, the Ood-Sphere had just been a wintry planet, and the Library had been just that, a humongous library. Granted, the Ood had been a bit strange at first, but the humans there had given the place a sense of familiarity and, in the end, the Ood had been more human than most of the humans. This place felt unearthly in a way that nowhere else had done: the smells, the sounds, the sights – all of them shrieked 'Alien!'

_What would the Doctor do?_

Assuming of course he didn't have his sonic screwdriver (which, of course, Donna didn't), he'd probably rummage around in his pockets, cobble something together out of fluff, string and an old beer mat, and be out of the room in seconds. Donna didn't have any string or beer mats in her pockets (although there was a depressing amount of fluff) and the room was empty of anything that could have stood in for them.

The sudden sounds of screaming jarred Donna's senses and she rushed to the cell door and looked out the window. She wished she hadn't. The Crusnik, Felic, was watching Mandy on his monitor. Donna started pounding on the cell door. He merely glanced at her as if he could care less.

"Let. Her. Go!" Donna screamed at him. "I swear to _God_ I will kick your teeth in!"

Felic reached over on his computer and pressed a button. The window to Donna's cell was blocked by some sort of screen. But even though Donna could no longer see him or the screen Mandy's screams echoed through her cell and she spent the next hour pounding and screaming at the door. The image of Mandy being beaten burned in her mind…

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXTHENEXTDOCTORXXX**

"We have to do something!" River said agitatedly.

"And what do you want me to do?" The Next Doctor yelled at her.

They'd spent the past 26 hours trying to find some way onto the ship that was holding Donna and Mandy captive. But the Crusnik had been well prepared for their attempts and at every turn they were farther and farther from being able to get through the shields and every time they thought they had, new ones went up in their place.

The Doctors were going insane, and if they were going insane then their companions were already there and being pushed to the limits.

"What if we blew the shields up and then…" Jack suggested.

"We've already went through that! It won't work!" the Doctor insisted. "We'll never be able to force entry to the spacecraft. Its access port has a titanium lock primed with a black-light micro-circuitor."

"We have to do something though," Martha said. "It's been over a day and we can't get through to Donna at all. Her communicator stopped working over eleven hours ago."

"It's to do with whatever technology they're using as a shield for that ship," River said.

"Do you think they're alright?" Amy asked worriedly. "They wouldn't hurt them right? They must want something from us…"

"They do," the Next Doctor agreed darkly.

"You know what that is don't you?" The Doctor asked him. "But you aren't saying!"

The Next Doctor just gave him a look before heading back to the TARDIS's controls.

"What happened here? What _is_ happening here?" the Doctor pressed.

There was no answer and the Doctor slammed his hand down on the chair beside him; storming out of it to pace.

"Are you sure we can't gain access? What would happen if we…" Jack tried again.

"If we attempt to enter that craft, attempt to destroy it, even attempt to detach it, we'll blow a hole in the fuselage the size of eighty city blocks. Which, from the docking bays, would doubtless envelop the lower bows where their fuel cells are located. And they contain, at a conservative estimate, a hundred million gallons of liquid nitrogen?" the Next Doctor looked at the other Doctor for confirmation.

The Doctor nodded grimly.

"I doubt even a ship the size of the TARDIS on the inside could repair itself before everyone on board was sucked into oblivion. Which includes Miranda and Donna. So unless you want to blow them up instead of rescue them we have to wait until the Crusnik comes to us," the Next Doctor finished.

There was a long silence before they began arguing over ways to get through the shields again, guessed at why they'd chosen Mandy and Donna for hostages, wondered over why no demands were being made for an exchange, and fought amongst each other in frustration of getting nowhere. The Next Doctor, standing at the TARDIS's controls, remained unusually silent. Caught in memories he couldn't forget.

It'd be another two days before they finally got what they were looking for: communication with the ship's captain, the Crusnik 01.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXMANDYXXX**

I didn't know how much time had passed. All I knew was that I was a prisoner. I was starving. I was thirsty. And the only time I was allowed to leave the room was to go to the bathroom and even then I was left in chains.

Every hour I was interrogated for different information, information I couldn't give because I didn't know. Every hour they whipped, beat, and tortured me. Every hour I would end up unconscious, unable to defend myself, and too weak to care anymore.

At first I'd been strong. Not crying out, not giving them the satisfaction of winning. I had been determined that the Doctors would come for me. But now, after so many hours and who knew how many days, I had given up. No one was coming for me. I'd die here, alone. Just like they'd said I would when they first started.

The door to my cell opened again and I didn't bother to look up. I didn't know what they wanted to know, I couldn't and wouldn't say anything that would please them, and even if I did it wouldn't matter. They'd still torture me anyways.

I was alone. I was in pain. And I was going to die.

"Where is the Doctor?" the bulwoggle asked.

And so it began.

"I don't know," I said weakly.

I heard the monster raise its arm and closed my eyes. It'd all be over soon.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXTHEDOCTORXXX**

"…_you have fifteen minutes to hand yourself over or I will kill them both."_

"And if we don't believe you?" the Doctor whispered.

"_Why take that chance when all you have to do is play the game?"_

"This is how you seek to make friends with us? By blackmail?"

"_I'm not in the business of making friends, Time Lord. And neither are you. I have the girls. If you turn yourself over to us they'll be released. We are all gamblers. Risk is part of our profession. But we can't be blamed for attempting to stack the odds in our favour."_

The seven of them stared at the TARDIS monitor as the Crusnik faded away, cutting the communication before anyone could respond. After three days the Crusnik had finally given them what they wanted; communication. What they hadn't wanted, but had fully expected, was a trade off. The Doctor looked at Martha and Jack and thought hard.

If the Crusnik wanted him fine. If it would mean that Donna and Mandy would be returned safely then he would sacrifice himself willingly because they were innocents in this. He'd lived a long time and dragged many people into his battles. He wasn't going to have Mandy or Donna be one of them.

"You can't possibly be considering this!" Martha said terrified.

"I have to…"

"No you don't! You _think_ you do but you don't. There has to be another way…" Martha argued.

"It's been three days! How much more do you think they can handle? We have no idea what they are or aren't doing to them up there and if there's even a ten percent chance that I could get them back then I'll take my chances!" The Doctor yelled.

"He said he wants the Doctor. But which one? Does he know there are two of you at the moment?" River asked.

The Doctors looked at each other.

"Probably not no. Which is good for us. Because once I get over there, slip the interference device into a nice little hiding place and activate it, you can come gallivanting to the rescue."

"Are you sure about this?" The Next Doctor said.

The Doctor grinned manically.

"No, but then I never really am."

"What if they kill you? What if they kill all three of you? Once you're there who's to make sure that they really let them go? How do we know they're even still…?" Amy didn't finish the sentence.

She'd become quite fond of the old Doctor and the idea of him being killed bothered her tremendously. Especially understanding that if this Doctor died her Raggedy Doctor would never have existed at all.

"I have to at least try," the Doctor said and then grinned. "I do a great impression of a lamb trotting off to the slaughter. Wanna see?"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXDONNAXXX**

Donna didn't know what was happening. But before she could even blink she'd been handcuffed and gagged. The bulwoggle shoved her out of her cell and she growled at it through the gag. The only time she was allowed out was to use the bathroom and even then the trips were far and few between.

She was dirty, hungry, and thirsty and all it did was make her more determined to not give up. She _was_ going to get out of this and someone _was_ going to pay. But when she was shoved out of her cell and she got her first look around the large room since 11 hours before she froze, terrified.

There, in the middle of the room, ankles chained to the floor and hands cuffed behind his back was the Doctor, _her_ Doctor. And he was looking a little worse for wear. She didn't know what she'd expected, but it wasn't this. She wanted to call out to the Doctor but she was unable to. She saw his neck swing around as the bulwoggle knocked her off her feet and she groaned in pain as she hit the floor.

For a moment their eyes met and she saw the fear etched in his eyes. He was feeling completely outnumbered and obviously didn't have a plan. But then, Donna thought, when did he ever? She knew he worked best under extreme pressure. She just hoped he had come with a _little_ something up his sleeve because otherwise she couldn't see any of them getting out of this.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXTHEDOCTORXXX**

"Look, Doctor," the Crusnik mocked. "See her for the first time."

A screen lit up and he heard Donna scream into her gag from behind him. He didn't turn, he didn't move, he didn't even blink. On the screen Miranda was chained in a pitch dark room, they must have put in a night vision cam to watch her at all times. He could use this information, if he could just get unchained.

Miranda was on her knees, slumped forward; the chains attached to each wall were bound to each of her wrists, keeping them above her head at all times. She sagged lifelessly as if she had no strength left to hold herself up. From this angle he couldn't see her face, it was facing the floor. What he could see was the discoloration covering every inch of skin, bruises large and purple, and he felt his blood rush as he realised just how much skin was actually showing. He remembered the stunning dress the queen had given her but it was now filthy, stained with blood, and practically torn to shreds.

The Crusnik stepped around him in circles watching his every reaction, every movement. The Doctor looked away from the screen and met his eyes. He felt his humanity slipping away and he tried to cling to it for her sake. He needed to stay calm, maintain control, he had to get himself and Donna free and find a way out and to Mandy before he allowed his fury to take over.

"Look, companion!" the Crusnik roared happily.

The Crusnik disappeared from his sight and he heard Donna groan behind him. He tried pulling his wrists free from the shackles but they were too tight to budge. If he could just get to his sonic screwdriver… He saw Donna's familiar head of red hair come into view at the corner of his eye and he turned to look at her. Her wrists were bound behind her and they had tied a cloth around her mouth. She stared back at him, fear evident in her eyes.

"See him, in his eyes. Do you see it?" the Crusnik laughed pushing her closer. "The fury of a Time Lord hidden behind those eyes. Struggling to be set free. Seeing one of his own so inhospitably treated."

The Crusnik kicked Donna's back and she flew towards him smashing into the floor. She looked up at the Crusnik angrily, tears stinging her eyes but she held them off, defiantly. He was proud of Donna. She was a magnificent woman and she didn't even know it. No matter how many times he'd told her so or tried to show it to her she merely brushed it off or scoffed. Now, here she was staying strong when she was terrified out of her mind. He had to get her out of here. She was an innocent in this and it was his fault she was here.

"Let Donna go," the Doctor said his voice guttural, "You agreed. You have me, now let them go."

"Did I say that?" the Crusnik asked. "Well, I'm sure you'll find I'm not too reliable…"

"You have what you want, let her go. She's just a human!"

The Crusnik smiled sadistically and began walking circles around him again.

"True. Humans are, in general, replaceable. But this one isn't is she Doctor? I can see it, Doctor. I can see it in your eyes. You've grown to care for this human, you've become sentimental. That is your greatest weakness you know, love. You become lonely and take unimportant humans from their planet and you fill their heads with the wonders of the universe, making them never want to leave. Oh, you've raised them well, Doctor. But how many, how many have suffered in your company?"

The Doctor felt his anger rising and he tried to stamp it down again. That was what it wanted but why? Why did it want him angry? He saw Donna struggle to her knees and scoot closer to him. She watched the Crusnik pacing in front of the large computer pressing buttons as she leaned her back up against his legs. But then he felt her hands on the cuffs around his ankles and he suppressed the urge to grin.

'_Oh, Donna! You are magnificent_!' He thought. He heard the tiny click at his left ankle and then felt her hands moving to his right, all the while she watched the Crusnik with an intensity he'd never seen. She was brilliant; how she'd learned to pick locks without having to look he didn't know. He wasn't even sure where she'd gotten the bobby pin; he'd never saw her use one before. Humans surprised him all the time.

He heard the click of the right cuff and he moved his feet cautiously. She'd left them on so it looked like he was still chained. Now if only he could get out of the chains on his wrists. Apparently she'd thought this over as well. She tried to stand but having her hands chained behind her back made that extremely difficult. He used his knees to pull up her arms and help her to her feet. She glanced back at him appreciatively but he saw a tear streak down her face.

This confused him. Why would she cry now? What was she planning? He realised only too late when she booked it across the room towards the table with his sonic. The Crusnik turned on her and shot at her. The first time he missed and as Donna managed to grab the sonic behind her back the second shot struck her in the chest.

"Donna!"

The Doctor saw her eyes widen in shock and pain as she hit her knees and slump sideways gasping for air through the gag. The Doctor couldn't pretend he was chained. He launched to his feet and jumped, whipping his chained arms under his legs so that his hands were in front of him. He dashed for Donna, who was his first concern at the moment.

A shot of light missed him by mere centimeters and he felt the sting of heat pass by him. He threw himself by Donna's side placing his hands at her throat, checking for a pulse. He found it and was pleased to find it was still there, weak, but there. The shot had stunned her heart and it was working hard to keep going. He pulled the gag from her mouth hoping to give her more oxygen.

"Stay with me, Donna," he said brushing the red hair from her face. "Don't you die on me; we have too many planets to save yet."

He saw her eyes open slightly and the slight smile on her lips. He smiled down at her trying to maintain control of his emotions.

"Can't get rid of me that easily, spaceman," she choked.

He'd never been happier to hear that title. He felt something tap his right knee and he realised she still had the screwdriver. Now that his hands were in front of him he could free himself and then they might have a chance.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXTHENEXTDOCTORXXX**

"Doctor! It's working!" River cried.

The Next Doctor rushed over to the screen to look up at the readings. Slowly a hole was forming in the ships protection field. In a matter of minutes he'd be able to fly the TARDIS through and land her in the halls of it.

"So are we going then?" Amy asked rushing up to them.

"No," the Next Doctor said. "Only me and River. We need you here to be our backup. When we get back we're going to need to take off immediately. We'll need you four to fly the TARDIS."

Amy looked at him startled.

"You want us to fly the TARDIS? As in me, Rory, Martha, and Jack?"

"Yes," the Next Doctor said giving her a slight smile. "Think of it as a learning experience."

"Won't you need someone to help you find them?" Jack asked.

"No. I know where they'll be. The best place for you is on the TARDIS unless I call for you. Which may happen anyways."

"Doctor, I'm going to fly her in," River told him.

"Alright. But steady does it. We don't want them to know we're here…"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXTHEDOCTORXXX**

"That was foolish of both of you," the Crusnik said, "but I admire your bravery no matter how pointless."

"You didn't have to shoot her," the Doctor said.

"Just be thankful I didn't kill her, Time Lord."

The Crusnik lowered the gun and turned back to the computer seemingly unworried that he'd try to make an escape. He knew the Doctor wouldn't leave Donna, not for anything, and until Donna's heart had a chance to recover there was no way he could get her out safely. The Crusnik pressed a button and Mandy appeared on the screen again. The Doctor watched it with trepidation as he took the sonic into his hands. He changed the settings so it would make minimal noise and he pressed the button to his right wrist.

The Crusnik pressed a button and the Doctor saw all the lights in Mandy's cell blink on. He paused as her rough condition became more apparent in the bright light and full color camera. He almost wished he'd seen her only in night vision optics of black and green. He felt Donna's hands slide back towards him to take his hand that still held his sonic. She pressed the button to draw his attention back to the task at hand. He held the sonic to his cuff and he heard it finally click. He worked on the next one.

"Engage stage 3" the Crusnik said into the mic.

The Doctor heard the last cuff unlock and he removed them quietly from his wrists. He grabbed Donna's wrists and began sonicing her free. He heard a door slam and he looked up startled. He saw another creature on the screen approaching Mandy. He saw it raise its hand and bring it down. The sound of the crack made his blood boil. He was troubled most to see Mandy never even flinched.

Donna pushed herself off the floor now that her hands were free and she pressed a hand to her heart staring tearfully at the screen. The Doctor placed a hand on her shoulder for comfort. She lifted her hand from her chest to place it on top of his as they watched in horror as Mandy lifted her head.

Her cheek was bruised and there was blood dried on the right side of her face where her head had split open. Her lips were swollen and split and she barely had the strength to keep her head up let alone open her eyes.

"_Tell us… where the Doctor is," the guard growled at her._

She didn't answer; she forced her eyes open to stare at him, bloodshot and dry. The guard slapped her across the face and the Doctor's hand tightened on Donna's shoulder. The Crusnik turned to look at them as his guard tortured the girl by asking questions and slapping her whenever she refused to answer.

"Tell me, Doctor," the Crusnik asked, "now that you are free what will you do?"

The Doctor looked at him. He felt the alien part of him fighting to take control and he knew he was losing. He couldn't handle watching Mandy be tortured just so they could find him, knowing that they already had and they were just playing with her for their entertainment.

"Stop it," the Doctor growled. "Just stop. You have me already, let her go."

"Oh, Doctor it never had anything to do with you. You were merely a toy for us to play with. She was our target all along."

The Doctor stared at him in confusion. _She_ was the target?

"What do you mean she's the target?"

The Crusnik sneered.

"You never realised did you?" the Crusnik smugly asked.

The blank look the Doctor gave him answered the question and he laughed cruelly.

"Oh, slow aren't we Doctor. What is it they call you? The Oncoming Storm? The Lonely God? Creatures run in fear of you, whisper your name as if merely mentioning it could bring your wrath upon them. But you are nothing," the Crusnik said. "There is something so much stronger, dangerous, and deadlier than you could ever be."

"I don't have to kill or torture anyone," the Doctor said.

"No. Oh no, Doctor, never do you have to do your own dirty work. Not when you have so many willing to do so for you. But that is neither here nor there because there is something so much larger out there. And you are merely tiny compared to it."

"What do you mean? What does that have to do with…"

"Shut up!" the Crusnik roared. "Bear witness, Doctor, to the true nature of your newest companion; the last child of Gallifrey."

Donna clutched his shirt in terror. Mandy was kneeling and panting heavily as blood dripped from her mouth. The Crusnik turned the volume back up and they could hear the guard talking to her again.

"…_and you left. Without so much as a thought of what you'd be doing to them. Look at her! Your best friend left alone, in a world that she had no one but you to rely on. Look what you've done to her."_

They could see Mandy was breaking down. Her eyes welled up with tears and reddened further. Then Donna heard other sounds…

"_Mandy? Mandy can you hear me?" a voice called hysterically in the background. "Where am I?"_

Donna looked back at the Doctor, they recognised that voice.

"Shaye?" Donna whispered.

The Doctor stared at the Crusnik.

"Why? Why would you need her friend?" the Doctor asked trying to work through his thoughts.

"Oh, we don't."

The Doctor thought about this, he listened closely to the sound of Shaye yelling and the realization struck him hard.

"You're using a perception filter to make it look and sound like Shaye but it's not really her."

"Correct, but she doesn't know that," the Crusnik said happily.

"Stop it!" Donna screamed at him. "Just stop! Tell us what you want!"

"Donna…" The Doctor hissed in her ear.

The sound of Mandy screaming drew their eyes back to the screen. She was pulling at the chains trying to break free. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she screamed in agony. The Doctor glanced at the door leading to halls of the ship. The others should have been here by now. The settings on the device he'd hidden in a panel of the ship should have dismantled the shields without setting off any alarms. So where were they?

"_Stop it! Leave her alone!" Mandy screamed._

"_You could have prevented this," the guard said. "We gave you a chance."_

The sound of Shaye screaming echoed in Mandy's cell as she watched something, tears streaming hot and wet. She struggled with everything she had to get loose but without so much as budging an inch.

"A different angle I think," the Crusnik said.

The Crusnik brought up another camera feed next to the current one and they could see Mandy' back. They could see what she was seeing and Donna tucked her head into the Doctor's chest. They had brought a large screen into Mandy's cell and on it Shaye was being mauled by one of the guards. Even knowing that they didn't actually have Shaye, that it wasn't real, it was a horrible thing to watch. He knew how much worse it was for Mandy who didn't know it was just a perception.

They saw the fake Shaye hit the floor as blood pooled around her and the guard stepped back away from her covered in her blood. It turned towards the screen and hissed with a mouth full of red fangs. Mandy began sobbing uncontrollably saying Shaye's name over and over.

"_This can stop," the guard said kneeling in front of Mandy. "Just tell us how to unseal the Time Lock."_

"The Time Lock?" the Doctor asked. "What does he mean?"

"The Time Lock you put on Gallifrey."

"She doesn't know! She wouldn't know no matter what you do, she wasn't trained!" the Doctor yelled. "Let her go, take me, put me in there! Do what you want but leave her alone, you don't need her."

"Oh, but Doctor we do…"

"_Doctor! Doctor!" Donna's voice called in a panic._

Donna and the Doctor looked at the screen in shock. The screen in Mandy's cell showed a fake Donna pounding on a door in another cell yelling. The Doctor knew what this perception implied. If they'd caught Donna, surely they'd caught him. He could see this exact thought registering on Mandy's face.

"_Let him go," the fake Donna yelled. "Doctor!"_

"_No," Mandy cried. "Please, don't! Not Donna! I'll do anything but please let her go!"_

Donna started to get up but the Doctor pulled her back down as the Crusnik aimed its gun at them. They heard the sound of the weapon warming up to shoot, this time to kill, not just shock.

"You. Sit. Quietly." It ordered threateningly.

"Stop it," Donna said to him. "You can't use me against her!"

"I think you'll find I can."

On the screen fake Donna was pacing in the room muttering to herself, trying to make a plan on how to get out. The fake Donna stared into the camera and yelled at it.

"_You won't win! The Doctor will stop you! We'll find Mandy and you'll be sorry! I'll slap the living hell out of ya do you hear me?" fake Donna yelled._

Mandy was screaming at the guard to let Donna go.

"_I don't know what you want from me! I can't help you! I don't know how to undo the Time Lock, I don't know how to operate the TARDIS, and I don't know what happens in the future. I don't know how to do anything!"_

"_Then remember that you caused this," the guard said._

"_Please, please," Mandy cried. "Don't hurt Donna. Hurt me, tear me apart, kill me! But leave Donna alone."_

"_Why should we do that?" the guard asked as if considering it. "Give me a reason to spare the_ _humans life."_

"Stop," Donna cried being held back by the Doctor. "Leave her alone, you've done enough!"

Donna stared back at the live feed, tears rolling down her cheeks as the Doctor rubbed her arms trying to calm her. He looked around the room, trying to gather his options and come up with a plan.

"_Because Donna is the most amazing human I've ever met," _Mandy said tears rolling down her cheeks faster and faster. _"Every day she is a reminder that life goes on, and that the hardest difficulties can be handled in the end. No one else has ever shown so much compassion for others, regardless of their race. No one has so much dedication for protecting others, for trying to save people. No one else has challenged the Doctor into becoming a better person or even made him __want__ to be a better person. No one else would have been able to change his mind so many times. She's compassionate and she's wonderful. And she deserves to live!"_

Donna broke down crying watching the screen. She'd never heard anyone speak of her like that. She'd always thought she was nothing. That she was going nowhere. Whatever future she had, it was bound to be equally nothing special. Then she met the Doctor, and he made her feel brilliant. And now this girl, who didn't know how brilliant _she_ was, was being tortured. She hadn't known what Mandy had thought of her. But now that she did her heart broke.

"Please," Donna cried in the Doctor's arms. "Stop him. Make him stop."

The Doctor wrapped Donna tightly in a hug and hid her face as he watched the screen in silence. Miranda was just as brilliant as Donna was. It was strange that neither could see it. He had to figure out how to get them out of here. He had his screwdriver, but what could he do? He couldn't risk getting Donna shot again; it'd surely kill her this time. The computer had a self-destruct system, so he couldn't sonic it to release all the cell doors. That also meant they couldn't run for it. He wouldn't have time to sonic the door, get Donna or himself out of it, and avoid being killed. He didn't know where Mandy was being held on this giant ship and that was a huge disadvantage. The guards would kill them or kill her by the time he'd found her, _if_ he found her. He had to focus but the sound of Donna's screams on the monitor made him lose his concentration.

"_No!" Mandy screamed, "Please! Donna! Donna!"_

The fake Donna was being even more brutally tortured than the fake Shaye had. Mandy screamed and pulled at her chains. The Doctor could see the blood dripping down her arms as the cuffs sliced her wrists as she pulled against them. He saw her eyes growing dark even as the tears fell. He felt the alien part of him take over and he felt his temper flare.

"The fury of a Time Lord," the Crusnik laughed. "Such an interesting thing."

Donna couldn't help but peel her eyes away from the Doctor's chest to look into his eyes. She'd seen that look before. She lifted her hands to his face and made him meet her own.

"Doctor," she said. "Don't let him win."

The Doctor stared into her eyes, not really seeing her. This was one of the things that scared her most, when the alien part of him completely took over. He was no longer her Doctor, he was the nightmare of every alien in the universe, he'd become the Oncoming Storm. She didn't know what would happen now.

The sudden silence of screaming drew both of their attentions. Donna looked up at the screen, on the monitor in front of Mandy the fake Donna was dead, hugged in the arms of a fake Doctor. She felt the Doctor tense up behind her. She took his hand, not knowing what else to do. Donna saw Mandy stop struggling and stare at the screen in silence.

"_You killed her," the fake Doctor said. "You. Killed. Her."_

Two guards entered the room behind the fake Doctor poised to attack. The fake Doctor kneeled to stroke the fake Donna's blood soaked hair. He stood up and turned towards the guards.

"_Don't…" they heard Mandy whisper._

"_You want to hurt me, fine," the fake Doctor said angrily. "Hurt me! Kill me!"_

"_Doctor," Mandy whispered._

"Look! It's happening!" the Crusnik roared happily.

Donna and the Doctor saw the fake Doctor take the first swipe of the guard's claws and blood stained his suit. They looked at Mandy on the screen watching. She was silent and then they saw it. Something was happening to her back.

"Doctor…" Donna whispered in horror. "What's happening to her?"

The Doctor stood up in horror, spilling Donna on her back. How could he have missed it? Why had he never thought to actually test her DNA? He stared at the Crusnik angrily. That's why he had captured her. He had figured out what she was when the Doctor had completely overlooked it. She wasn't part Time Lord, part human. She was…

"Doctor!" Donna cried. "What are they doing to her?"

Mandy's eyes grew red on the screen and the cell began pulsing with a bright light. Donna stood up and grabbed the Doctor's sleeve.

"Doctor!"

"They aren't doing anything. She's waking up," the Doctor said.

"What do you mean she's waking up?" Donna said. "She's already awake!"

"I was wrong. She wasn't part human. She's part Seraph."

The Crusnik was typing rapidly on the screen when someone burst through the lab doors. The Doctor shoved Donna down as shots fired through the room. The two bulwoggles in the room went down without even blinking.

The Crusnik laughed when it saw the Next Doctor and River in the doorway.

"You're too late Doctor," the Crusnik sneered at him. "As always, far too late."

"Tell your creatures to back out now," the Next Doctor ordered. "This is your only warning."

"Or what Doctor? You'll have your pet shoot me?"

"I don't have to have her _do_ anything. I can make your life hell for the rest of eternity. I've lived so long and seen so much that there isn't anything I can't think of. And when people come to you and ask if trying to get to me _through the people I LOVE_ — is in any way a good idea … I want you to tell them all about this day," the Next Doctor paused. "Oh, look, I'm angry. That's new. I'm really not sure what's going to happen now."

"The anger of a good man is not a problem. Good men… have too many rules."

"_Good men don't need rules._ Today is not the day to find out why I have so many," the Next Doctor growled.

The Crusnik merely laughed and hit a button on the screen. Mandy's screams wrenched the air as she was struck again by the guard in her cell.

That was when everything snapped for the Next Doctor. He turned and looked at River who never even had to see his eyes to know what demons lay beneath them. She raised the gun without hesitation and fired with well practiced accuracy. The Crusnik turned in shock as it was struck multiple times. It slid down the computer, hitting its knees.

"She will fall," the Crusnik choked out. "Your anger cannot help you now."

The Crusnik died with a cruel smile on its face, blood dripping from its mouth. Both Doctors met each other's eyes and launched into action. They didn't have time to think, they had to move now or everything they'd planned would fall apart.

"She's a Seraph!" The Doctor yelled to them. "And you're late!"

"We know that already!" The Next Doctor told him. "We had some guard trouble."

"Doctor, it's already started," River said worriedly.

The Next Doctor ran toward the screen and began typing in codes to the mainframe but the Doctor had already beaten him to it.

"Damn it!" The Next Doctor yelled banging his hand onto the control panel.

A large map popped up covering the screen. A large red dot was marked over a room two floors down. It was growing darker and darker as they watched. Other dots were walking around the ship but there was a clear path to where they needed to go.

"Oh, well that's handy," the Next Doctor said.

"We have to get down to her now, before it's too late!" River yelled.

The Next Doctor had finally broke down and told her exactly what had happened this night so many years ago. She was determined to keep him from having to suffer through it again.

"I know, I know!"

"What's happening? What's a Seraph?" Donna asked.

"Mandy is! There were nine orders of Seraphim in the traditional Christian hierarchy. People who aren't devout in their faith think it's merely a story. But it's not. There really were Seraphim and Mandy is the descendant of one the highest ones. Her mother didn't fall in love with a human, she fell in love with a Seraphim. And if we don't stop it the Seraph in her will wake up under the wrong circumstances. She'll fall, nothing but blood thirsty and driven by vengeance," the Next Doctor said in a rush.

"Doctor, _come_ _on_!" River yelled.

"You mean there really are Seraphim? And they're aliens?" Donna asked.

"Oh, yeah. And when you wake one up you had better believe there will be hell to pay..." the Doctor told her. "They used to live on a planet near Gallifrey. Mandy would have been only a couple years old when the planet was destroyed along with the Seraphim."

The Doctor was typing something rapidly on the control panel. A screen popped up with Mandy's DNA test, it confirmed she was indeed Seraph and Time Lord. Human DNA and Seraph DNA only had a slight difference in the genetic code, if he'd actually tested her he'd have seen what she was to begin with. He pointed to a separate panel near the Next Doctor.

"Quick," the Doctor ordered the Next Doctor. "Switch to the live feed."

The Next Doctor closed the map and they stepped back when they saw Mandy. Extending from her back was a pair of wings; large, beautiful, and white as the snow. Her eyes kept blinking from normal to red as the guard in the room whipped her over and over with its switch trying to anger her more. They could see the welts forming, cracking, and bleeding.

The Next Doctor slammed his hand on a few keys and warning alarms went off in a sector at the opposite end of the ship. They saw all the guards running from their posts to investigate the disturbance. That would keep all the guards out of their way until they reached Mandy.

"We're too late," the Doctor said in horror staring at Mandy's reddening eyes.

"No, we're not!" The Next Doctor yelled running for the door. "I'm not giving up on her again! And I sure as hell am not letting you do it for the _first_ time!"

The Doctor followed him with River and Donna close behind. Farther down the passage of the hall a guard came around the corner and held up a gun taking aim.

"River!" the Next Doctor yelled ducking out of the way.

River shot the guard in the forehead without so much as a twitch and they ran past the fallen guard's body. Donna stared at it in horror as they ran by.

"Must you keep shooting people!" the Doctor yelled as they ran.

"Oh, shut up! We don't have time to stand around and make peace treaties!" She yelled back at him.

"Since when do I advocate violence?" the Doctor yelled.

"Since never! But these are special circumstances and we do what needs to be done when necessary," the Next Doctor hollered back.

"Why do we always do so much running?" Donna panted holding her heart. "Can we ever have a trip where we don't end up having to run for our lives?"

"We're not running for our lives this time, Donna. We're running for someone else's," the Next Doctor called.

"She was shot in the chest, I'm not sure her heart can take the running right now," the Doctor told them, grabbing her arm to steady her.

The Next Doctor stopped to look at Donna worried. That hadn't happened when he'd lived through this the first time.

"I'm fine! One more floor. Save her, not me."

The Next Doctor patted Donna's face with a tender smile and took off running again. Two floors down River shot down whatever guard threatened to get in their way and without so much as blinking the Next Doctor whipped out his screwdriver and unlocked a cell door. It flew open with a bang and River shot the guard down that was standing over Mandy, ready to strike again. Mandy didn't even blink.

The Next Doctor looked at River and walked into the room, stepping over the guard, his hands out to show he wasn't armed. Donna and the Doctor went to enter the room but River held them back.

"You can't. Let him do this," she said.

"Get out of the way," the Doctor growled.

"No! On your orders I am not letting you enter this room," she said and pointed the gun at him. "I'm sorry, love."

"Are you threatening me?" He growled. "Now of all times?"

River pulled the cock of the gun with a click. Donna tugged the Doctor back and they listened closely to what was happening in the room. The Doctor glared at River and stood back. They moved so that they could at least see inside of the room, River let them.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXMANDYXXX**

"… It's really me. I'm the Doctor," the Next Doctor said.

"You're dead," I said my voice dry and cracking.

"No, Mandy, what you saw on the monitor wasn't real. It was a trap to awaken the Seraph inside of you. No one has died."

"I saw them! They killed her," I said, my irises turning a deep crimson and the tips of my wings began to grow dark as well. "They killed Donna _and_ Shaye! It's my fault!"

The little girl I'd saved words echoed in my mind: _'As well as being helpers in a kindly way, Seraphim also punish us.'_

"_Listen_ to me!" the Next Doctor cried. "Donna is _alive_! _Shaye_ is alive! Listen to your heart, what is it telling you?"

The Next Doctor dropped to his knees before me as blood began to drip from my eyes in place of tears. My vision swam in shades of red.

'_Seraphim have work to do like everyone else in the world, and when they see someone break the laws of compassion and respect they calmly and without any anger chastise the transgressor to help them become better people.'_

The Next Doctor panicked. This couldn't happen! Not again. If he didn't do something the darkness would consume her heart and she'd be lost to them forever, he'd have to destroy her, again. He scanned her with his screwdriver and looked at the readings.

"I… can't," I cried, my wings getting redder. "I saw them…"

He took a large risk and unlocked the chains binding my wrists and ankles. I looked at him in surprise at the realization I was free, after four days I was finally free. My wings were turning dark faster and faster. I spread my wings out fully, stretching them, and he was temporarily mesmerised with their size, each wing spanning at least four feet.

'_Sometimes their punishment is so harsh it takes the form of death. The Seraphim are the true protectors of our souls. There's no need to plan revenge on those violent monsters as I'm sure you would like to and as I most certainly would, because the Seraphim will do it for you. That is their law. They punish evil-doers. And no one can escape their terrible vengeance.'_

"I'll kill them," I screamed grabbing the front of his shirt.

"You can't," the Next Doctor told me paying no attention. "Just believe me, outside that door is all the proof you need. But first you have to focus on me. Think about all the good things, let your anger go."

"Donna," I cried, my mind a chaotic mess. "I couldn't…"

The Next Doctor took my hands in his, squeezing them.

"Mandy, you need to start trusting me. It's never been more important."

"But you don't always tell me the truth, the you now or then," I said blood streaming down my cheeks, I felt my pupils begin to dilate.

"If I always told you the truth I wouldn't need you to trust me," he said smiling.

"But how can you be here? I saw you die…"

The Next Doctor placed his hands on either side of my face and he saw the crimson in my eyes lighten with the touch. His touch was like a candle lighting me from the inside, driving away the darkness. He placed his forehead against mine and sighed.

"Exactly. If I'd died the future wouldn't have happened, my future wouldn't exist. _I_ wouldn't exist. You know in your heart that I'm real and you have to remember."

"Remember what?"

"Remember that no matter what happens, no matter where you or I go… I love you," the Next Doctor said and kissed me on the forehead.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXDONNAXXX**

The Doctor looked in on them in shock and Donna looked back at him in equal surprise. They both glanced at River who looked very much like she'd like to shoot herself on the spot. She quickly cooled her features and put her gun away, whether to avoid doing just that or what they didn't know. A bright light filled the cell making them all blink.

Once they could see again Donna entered the room. Coming through the door she could see Mandy curled in a heap in the Next Doctor's lap sobbing madly.

She approached her uneasily.

Her wings were entirely white again and they were folded up and around her like a safety blanket. The Next Doctor was stroking her hair, staring at the opposite wall.

"Mandy," Donna said quietly.

Her head shot up and she stared hard, trying to tell if it was really her or not.

Donna had never seen anything cry blood before and it terrified her beyond belief. But the fresh tears now coursing down the girls cheeks made her forget all that and she couldn't forget everything Mandy had said when she was trying to save her life, not knowing it wasn't her.

"Donna?" she asked, terrified she wasn't real.

"Yeah," she said attempting a smile. "It's me, Donna. I'm alright."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXMANDYXXX**

I pushed myself off the floor and limped towards Donna and grabbed her close, sobbing into the woman's shoulder. Donna wrapped her arms around me awkwardly; my wings were huge. Donna started to cry with me out of relief.

"I thought, I thought…" I sobbed emotionally strung out.

"I know, they made us watch," Donna told me. "But you're safe now."

The Doctor entered the room slowly and standing behind Donna he merely watched. I pulled away from her to look at him. He attempted to smile but realised he failed miserably and quit bothering to try. The Next Doctor walked past us into the hall to join River where they spoke quietly so they couldn't be heard.

"How…" I whispered.

"Perception filter," the Doctor explained. "They wanted to drive you emotionally over the edge. We were just their ammunition against you. But we're alright, we always were."

I approached him slowly and I saw his eyes drift over my wings and the blood and bruises I was covered in. I stopped walking sensing the unease radiating off from him. I felt my heart break; he thought I was a monster. I glanced at the Next Doctor and then back to my Doctor. They were the same person but they both felt entirely different things for me.

The Next Doctor remembered how he felt when he had come here in the past. He had felt complete terror over the realization that Mandy was a Seraph and Time Lord. It was unheard of; the Lords of Gallifrey didn't allow mating with Seraphim of any rank. Back then he had got here too late and Mandy was overtaken with grief and anger, and he'd been forced to leave her on the ship and detonate it prematurely.

Donna had never trusted him the same after that, although she tried her best never to show it. But the Next Doctor had realised how wrong he'd been only too late and so with River's help he came back to do it over, or at least help his past self make the right decision. He knew that he was rewriting the future, especially his own, but the future was nothing to him having to remember what he'd done on this day so long ago.

"Doctor…?" I asked my voice cracking.

The sound of pain and fear in my voice hit a chord in the Doctor's hearts and he opened his arms to me. I raced into them and he folded me in a hug, careful not to squeeze the wings on my back. Every part of his Time Lord consciousness screamed that I was wrong, that I shouldn't exist, it was against the laws of Gallifrey. He took a deep breath and felt the tension and anxiety leave him as he took in my scent. He lowered his head to mine holding me close. _To hell with the laws of Gallifrey,_ he thought.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm so sorry!"

"It was all my fault," I said pulling away and wiping at my face.

"No, it wasn't. You were brave," he told me. "And you held on for four days."

"I didn't feel brave," I whispered.

"But you were," Donna said stepping closer to rub my back under the wings. "And you fought so hard to save us."

I looked at the mixture of dirt, blood, and tears left on my hands and frowned. My body stung with every move and I winced. I looked up at the Doctor and then back to Donna and just froze. I stretched my wings out and flapped them a few times before pulling them back in.

"What's happened to me?" I asked terrified.

"You're not part human like we thought," the Doctor told me. "You have Seraph DNA."

My mind got fuzzy and I swayed on my feet. Donna and the Doctor caught me as my legs gave out. I was so tired and I hurt but I forced my strength back into my legs. My brain tried to wrap around what he'd said. There had been a race of Seraphim of the highest order that had lived on the planet Acadea when I was a child. But I had heard that they had all been wiped out when they had fallen to darkness.

"There haven't been Seraphim in years. They all fell to darkness before Gallifrey was put in the Time Lock," I said weakly.

"Yes, they did," River said coming in. "We think the man your mother fell in love with was one of the last to fall."

"I don't… I don't," I couldn't remember.

"Shh, it's alright," River said coming up to us and smiling reassuringly. "You couldn't have known. You grew up on Gallifrey without a father and then when your mum locked your memories a human man was introduced as being the father. You couldn't have known if it was true or not."

I felt my body giving in to the exhaustion and my back began to itch, slowly the wings faded away. River took my hand and placed something to my palm. I felt a sudden sharp sting and pulled my hand away to see a droplet of blood starting to bubble where I had been poked. The Doctor's large brown coat was suddenly draped around my shoulders.

"What happened? What'd you do?"

"A Seraphim's power can only be brought on by extreme emotions. You were so emotionally overwhelmed that the power inside you woke up. The power is now going back to sleep. I'm helping you rest by giving you an anesthetic. When you wake up you'll be on the TARDIS, so don't panic."

I tried to focus and shook my head as my sight blurred. I hugged the Doctor's coat tightly around me.

"You need to rest," River said. "Everything will be alright."

I felt the Doctor lift me into his arms as my head bobbed. I got the strangest feeling of déjà vu. I looked towards the door where the Next Doctor smiled at me softly. I owed him so much, this future Doctor.

"Go to sleep, Mandy," the Next Doctor said. "We'll take care of you now."

That was the last thing I heard before the drugs took over.

'…_And no one can escape their terrible vengeance.'_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**


	16. Chapter 16 being revised

**Author's Note: THIS CHAPTER WILL BE UPDATED SOON… you can of course continue reading if you wish, but eventually you'll want to come back and REREAD it because there may be some drastic changes in the chapter. Fair warning. As much as it may suck you may want to hold off and read more later. Don't worry, the update is scheduled for release by 6/15/13.**

**XXXXXXCHAPTERSIXTEENXXXXXX**

**XXXDONNAXXX**

On the TARDIS Donna and the Doctor were taking their turns watching over Mandy as she slept her way through the healing process her body was going through. Mandy looked dreadful. Her skin was pale and waxy and her hair was tangled and matted. Her eyes were flickering left and right under her lids.

Donna had finally gotten the Doctor to tell her a bit about his life. He still wasn't saying much but she was at least learning a bit about him, who he was, who he'd been before… who his family had been.

Donna had been extremely curious about the fact that he'd had a family. Ever since that trip to Messaline when he'd stated 'I was a father once', she had wondered how many kids he'd actually had.

When she had asked him about them she had expected him to brush the question off as he usually did when asked personal questions and she was surprised when he actually told her about them. She listened intently, only asking little questions when he seemed to take longer pauses than normal.

Most of the time they sat together beside the girl's bed talking quietly or playing a game or two. Other times they took turns sitting alone with her, giving each other a break to move around and rest themselves. The Doctor seemed to need much less private time. The only thing he seemed to really need was to get up and move. Donna supposed he was going crazy in his head from lack of excitement. He was used to living on adrenalin and right now the most exciting thing was when Mandy would take a deep breath or twitch in her sleep.

Donna wondered how much longer it would be before Mandy finally came back around. But until she did, it was just her and the Doctor.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXMANDYXXX**

I don't know how long I slept but when I came back around it was slowly and confusingly. My body was stiff from lack of movement and my brain fuzzy from exhaustion.

"…Susan… she was a good girl…"

"You had _grand_children? … is she now?"

Bits of the conversation going on quietly beside me reached my ears in confusing fragments. I had a hard time sorting out the words. I recognised the Doctor's voice and I found that comforting. I also recognised Donna's. I fuzzily wondered where the others were.

"…traveled with me. But she's gone now."

"I'm sorry…. kids?"

"…I adopted a child once and raised her. Miranda Dawkins, she was a rambunctious thing."

"Miranda seems to be a common name on your planet."

"I suppose, yes."

"What happened to her?" I heard Donna ask eventually.

There was a long pause and I strained to hear the reply.

"She died… while trying to protect me."

There was a long silence and I felt a cough building in my dry throat. I tried to hold it off, wanting to hear more.

"She's not the same Miranda. It could be different."

"Yes, yes. But I'm not sure I want to take that risk either," was his quiet response.

"Why don't we keep her with us? Just for a while?" Donna suggested.

"No. Absolutely not. Look at the trouble we've gotten her in by just finding her. I can't do it. She's safer on Earth."

My eyes cracked open, rolling unpleasantly as I made a great effort to focus. I tried to speak, but managed only a croaking gasp. Donna and the Doctor peered over at me and I saw Donna stand up. She glanced around the room. There was a sink against one wall, one of those tiny old-fashioned types like my gran used to have in her upstairs bedroom.

Donna crossed to it. A cracked glass sat on a little shelf above a grimy mirror. She stretched up and lifted it down, then grimaced. It was a bit grubby, full of dust and a dead spider. She reached in her pocket for a tissue. That was a bit grubby too, but it was all she had.

"Blimey, don't you ever do any spring cleaning round here?" I heard Donna grumble.

The Doctor brushed the hair out of my eyes as she shook the spider from the glass, wiped off as much of the dust as she could and turned on the cold tap. Pipes squealed and banged in protest at years of disuse, sounding impossibly loud in the dark room. Then, with a coughing splutter, a trickle of cold water splashed into the basin. She rinsed the glass, filled it to the brim and soaked the tissue, then hurried back to me.

The Doctor gently hauled me upright and Donna pressed the cold tissue to my forehead, brushing my hair back and wiping some of the sweat away.

"Here, I brought you some water."

With unsteady hands I took the glass and began swallowing down greedy gulps. Water splashed over my chin and on to the bed and I started to cough. Donna snatched the glass from me.

"Slowly, or you're going to choke, stupid!"

I nodded weakly.

"Thanks," I croaked. "Great bedside manner."

Donna gave me the glass back and I sipped at it more slowly as the Doctor laughed.

"So…" I said testing my ability to speak. "How long have I been out for the count this time?"

Donna grinned.

"A while, let's just put it that way."

"I've never slept so much in my life," I said staring at the ceiling.

"How are you feeling?" the Doctor asked.

I thought for a moment and lifted my hands up in front of my face turning them this way and that to look at the skin.

"Stiff. But otherwise fine."

"Good. You're looking much better," he told me.

I looked around the room and dozens of questions popped into my head.

"What happened?" I asked. "While I slept?"

The Doctor and Donna looked at each other and I saw them exchange a meaningful look. The Doctor got to his feet and patted me gently on the head like a child before walking away.

"I'm going to make you something to eat," he said.

When he'd left Donna turned to me.

"How are you really feeling?" she asked me.

"Just stiff. Like I haven't moved in years."

Donna tapped my forehead gently. "I meant in there."

"Oh…" I said. "Confused? Nervous, scared…"

Donna nodded.

"Shaye is fine," she offered. "We called her, told her we were off adventuring and that you were incredibly busy but as soon as we had some down time you'd call her."

I nodded thankfully. That was one worry off my mind. Shaye was okay. She wasn't dead; she was safe at home waiting for me.

"Where's everyone else?" I asked. "Martha and Jack and…"

"We took them home. Jack had to get back to Torchwood and Martha had too many patients to care for," Donna told me.

"Oh, I was hoping to say goodbye…" I said. "But what about the other Doctor? And Amy and River! They didn't leave too did they? Without saying…."

The look Donna gave me said it all. I sighed inwardly. I guess I wasn't going to get to say goodbye to anyone. I owed so much to them all. They'd saved me in more ways than one. The thought of the Next Doctor just leaving after what he'd said hurt in a way that surprised me. But I was also comforted by the memory.

'_Remember that no matter what happens, no matter where you or I go… I love you.'_

"They wanted me to tell you they were sorry they couldn't stay. They had an urgent call they needed to attend to," Donna said as way of explanation.

"Another world to save I suppose," I said.

"Probably. Knowing the Doctor," Donna agreed.

"You still haven't told me what happened after you saved me," I said. "What happened to the ship? To the creature that kidnapped me? To the lizard creatures?"

Donna stared at me a long moment and the Doctor walked in carrying a tray with a bowl and a cup on it. He set it in my lap giving me a blank look.

"No second chances," he said.

I thought about that and then stared down into the soup bowl. No second chances…

"So they…"

"Won't bother you ever again," the Doctor told me.

Petronilla's words echoed in my mind. I wondered now if she knew then what I was. But she couldn't have, she was just a child, and even the Doctor hadn't known. I repeated the words Petronilla had said to me aloud surprised at how true they'd been, not only about me but about the Doctor.

"There's no need to plan revenge because the angels will do it for you. That is their law. They punish evil-doers. And no one can escape their terrible vengeance."

The Doctor looked at me sharply.

"Where did you hear that?"

I looked up from my soup and into his eyes.

"Petronilla said that. Before I took her and Maud home."

"Who's Petronilla? And Maud?" Donna asked confused.

"They were just little girls. A bulwoggle had cornered them outside the TARDIS and I helped them get home. Just before I got… abducted." I said, then deciding to lighten the mood, "I seem to be getting abducted by aliens a lot lately. Can't be a good sign."

"You've only been abducted once," the Doctor said defensively, feeling guilty.

"Three times technically, only once willingly. The first time by you, the second time by future you, and the third time by… you get the point."

"Yeah. It's a terrible obsession, he abducted me too."

"I didn't abduct you! It was the huon particles not me!" He argued.

"Yeah, that's what he likes to tell himself," she told me with a wink.

"The faeries," I said suddenly remembering. "Are they okay? What happened to them? I didn't get to…"

"Their fine," the Doctor smiled. "Just children now. They've been taken to a good home."

I smiled relieved at this. I set to eating the soup in the bowl while they gathered their thoughts. I looked up surprised as I watched Donna leave without a word. I followed her with my eyes until she closed the door behind her. We sat there awkwardly, the Doctor watching me eat until every drop was gone.

"Well," I said quietly once I'd finished. "Let me have it."

His eyes opened wide. I met his gaze levelly.

"I know. I heard you as I was waking up," I told him. "I'm sure that's what you wanted to tell me. You're taking me home."

He scratched his neck and sighed.

"I just…" he started.

I managed to slide my way out from under the tray and out of bed. I waited a moment as I collected my strength and then crossed the few steps of distance to him. He looked up at me with a dozen emotions flitting through his eyes.

"Thank you," I said simply reaching out and tapping his nose. "If it wasn't for you I'd never know who I really was. I'd have always felt incomplete, lost. But now I think I can finally find my way home."

"That's what I'm here for; to crush you with cabinets and force regenerations," he grumbled.

Laughing I crossed the room to the bathroom leaving him staring after me in confusion. When I came back out I found myself alone, a glass of water sitting on the chair beside the bed, the tray gone. I sighed to myself and crawled back under the duvet and fell into my dark thoughts. Travelling through the deepest corridors of my mind I sorted through memories and thoughts that would haunt me for a long time.

It wasn't long before I realised I had fresh tears streaming hot down my face, soaking my hair and the pillow. Swallowing the moan that was slowly working its way into my throat I rolled over, burying my face into the pillow and allowed myself to let out all of the agony I'd been holding in.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXDONNAXXX**

Donna and the Doctor leaned against the wall of the hall outside the small room they'd left Mandy. The Doctor could see Donna observing him but he pretended he didn't notice.

"Well?" he asked eventually.

"She just stopped crying, I think she finally fell asleep," Donna told him.

"Good, she needs the rest," he said launching himself away from the wall and heading down the corridor.

Donna followed him quietly.

"Normally I accept your decisions without argument…"

The Doctor laughed at this, "Since when?"

Donna grabbed the sleeve of his suit jacket, pulling him to a stop.

"Okay, so I quite often argue. But only when it's necessary! And I haven't been wrong _yet_ now have I?" she inquired.

"No, you haven't," the Doctor agreed.

"Doctor, I think we should take her somewhere. Just one trip," Donna said.

"It's dangerous Donna," the Doctor argued. "I couldn't forgive myself if I got her killed."

"How do you know we'll have any trouble at all?" Donna asked.

The Doctor looked at her and arched his eyebrow. She sighed and swatted his arm in frustration.

"Alright so wherever we go there's trouble. You know you are the most frustrating alien I've ever known?" Donna said exasperatedly.

"Yup," he said with a soft smile.

"And the most bigheaded?"

"Yup, that too," he said his smile growing.

"And arrogant, and self-righteous, and insane…"

"I'm listening…" he laughed.

"And you are ridiculously energetic for being 904!"

He grinned outright at this. He'd forgotten it was his birthday; he never really gave too much thought to it since he had so many.

"What's the matter Donna? Getting tired of me already?"

Donna laughed.

"Never. But there's one thing that concerns me about you," she admitted.

The Doctor's smile fell and he met her gaze.

"And that is?"

"I think you forget, after doing this for so long, that there are consequences. Think of it Doctor, she's part Time Lord. That means she'll keep living, keep regenerating, and keep walking that same Earth forever. Wouldn't she be better traveling the universe with you? Seeing the world that was meant for your kind to see? I'd love to have a longer lifespan. One lifetime's been too short for me already to do everything I'd like. Especially now that I've traveled with you."

The Doctor frowned.

"I'm old enough now to know that a longer life isn't always a better one. In the end, you just get tired; tired of the struggle, tired of losing everyone that matters to you, tired of watching everything you love turn to dust. If you live long enough, Donna, the only certainty left is that you'll end up alone."

"That's not a very positive outlook on things, Doctor. Especially coming from you," Donna said surprised.

"Louis Hector Berlioz once said, 'time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils'."

Donna returned his frown.

"Yeah? Well a brilliant mind once said, 'everyone is entitled to their own opinion, it's just that yours is stupid'."

The Doctor grinned slightly. "And who was this brilliant mind?"

"Me," Donna retorted.

The Doctor smiled and pulled her into a quick hug and then held her at arm's length.

"I'll tell you what. I'll compromise if only to end this banter…"

"I'm not going to like this compromise am I?" Donna asked with a sigh.

"I'm still taking Mandy home," the Doctor continued ignoring her. "But we'll go back and visit her. As often as you like, as long as you like. Think of it as a relaxation period between rescuing planets."

Donna stared at him a minute and then held her hand out to him.

"Deal," she said. "But you'd better stick to it spaceman or I'm going to be extremely cross."

The Doctor shook her hand and then led her down the hall.

"I think you should get some sleep and I have some reading I'd like to catch up on."

Donna stopped outside her room as she watched him walk away. He disappeared in the door across the hall and he shut it with a soft click. She sighed, shaking her head, and then closed her own. She supposed he might be right. Mandy probably would be safer there. Out traveling the universe she'd draw attention to herself, on Earth no one would so much as blink. Donna rubbed her face with her hands and changed for bed.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXMANDYXXX**

I woke up the second time feeling a thousand times better. I heard someone wander past my room and decided to get up. I'd been in bed far too long and I felt the strong urge to do something. I scrounged up an outfit out of a closet I could stand to wear and headed for the door.

I ran head first into Donna who jumped startled.

"Sorry!" I apologised as she clutched her chest.

"You scared the bloody hell out of me!" she gasped. "I thought you were still sleeping."

"I was, but now I'm not."

The TARDIS began to shudder and Donna and I braced ourselves against the wall.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Um, the Doctor is having a time of it with the TARDIS," she said.

"Doesn't he usually?"

Donna laughed.

"Yeah, but this is different. Apparently the TARDIS won't let him set coordinates to where he wants to go. If he does manage it she changes directions halfway there."

"Old girl's giving him a fight… where is it he wants to go?"

Donna blinked twice before answering.

"To your house," she offered.

Oh, of course. I sighed. I supposed I should go see what I could do to help, if anything.

"I'll see if he needs anything."

"Okay, but don't get to close. He's on a kicking rampage."

"Oh, I've had worse done," I joked and saw Donna flinch. "Sorry."

Donna gave me a false smile and waved me towards the control room. I watched her head towards her room and stumbled my way towards the Doctor as the TARDIS gave another shudder.

"Oh no you don't!" the Doctor yelled forcing down a lever that swung itself upright.

I was making my way up the steps to join him when the TARDIS gave a large bang and I screamed as I flopped backwards and over the railing that circled around the console. I found myself lying on my back staring up into the Doctor's concerned face.

"You alright?" He asked checking my forehead as if for a temperature.

"Dandy, and just when I thought my ass couldn't get any more bruised."

The Doctor grinned ear to ear and grabbed my wrist yanking me to my feet.

"Yup, you're alright."

"Would you like me to talk to her?" I suggested following him back up to the controls.

"I've _been_ talking to her. And then shouting, and then whacking and then kicking and then pleading! Nothing works. She's throwing a complete fit," he complained.

"I'm surprised you left out threatening, blackmailing, and dismantling," I said jokingly.

"Nah, I tried those too," he said missing the joke completely.

I rolled my eyes and stepped up to the controls.

"Well, maybe there's one more thing we could try…"

"What?" the Doctor wondered skeptically.

"Reasoning with her," I said and started talking to the machine.

I talked for a roundabout minute about how nice she was to me, how much I liked her and that although I was sad to be going, and that I knew she didn't want me to, it was best if she let me go home. After all there were people that needed me there. And this didn't have to be goodbye, not at all, I'd be back again.

Much to the Doctor's irritation, surprise, and relief the TARDIS set course towards Earth again without any further complaint. He flipped a lever, pressed a few buttons, spun one knob and then leaned against the chairs behind him wonderingly.

"She likes you more than me," he stated with a slight whine to his voice.

I laughed and sat beside him.

"Yeah, that happens. I just have that effect with people… and aliens," I added as an afterthought.

"What do you plan on doing when you get back?" he asked conversationally.

"Well, I'll have to find a job," I said remembering I had been fired. "I'll probably need to do some cleaning. And call Shaye."

"I don't think you'll have to call," the Doctor said.

I looked up at him curiously.

"Why?"

"She's living at your apartment."

The Doctor laughed at the expression on my face and tapped my chin to close my mouth. The smell of him triggered my sexual desire and I took a casual, but purposeful step away from him. I didn't need to deal with _that_ right now.

"Sorry, guess we didn't mention that, huh?"

"There's a lot you haven't mentioned," I said and wished I could take it back.

The way I'd said it made me sound indignant. He simply looked at me and then back at the central column running from the floor to the ceiling.

"Do you really want to know? All the ugly details after what you have seen already?" he asked.

I thought about it, really thought about it. I'd been beaten, tortured, starved. I'd watched who I thought was Donna, Shaye, and the Doctor himself murdered on a screen. Did I really want to know what happened to those that did it to me? Part of me said yes if only to know that justice was done. The other part of me said no, if they're hiding it from you it's too terrible to speak of. I sighed and shook my head no at him. He patted me on the back.

"Good choice. Why don't you go freshen up? I'll hunt you down if I have any more problems."

"M'kay," I said heading back towards the hall.

I found my way back to the room I'd originally stayed in, it was a ways father down the hall than where'd I'd been staying. Opening the door I saw that everything was the same collective shades of cream and chocolate. As soon as I entered the room I went straight for the bathroom and a good bath.

I turned the faucet on and watched the steaming water flow into the tub. I poured in a decent amount of bubble bath and the scent wafted up and around me, I inhaled deeply and smiled. Apple. Sweet and sugary. I shed my clothes and stepped into the scalding hot water slowly, giving my body time to adjust. My skin flared red from the shock of the temperature but I lowered myself in anyways.

When the bubbles and water were as high as I could get them without flooding the bathroom I turned the faucet off. I laid my head back against the rim of the tub and took a deep breath. I felt the water moving slowly against my skin, creating small waves every time a muscle twitched. I wished silently that there was some form of current to get the water moving. My thoughts drifted to the day I'd asked the TARDIS for a bottle of alcohol.

"Umm," I said awkwardly to the air. "Would it be possible to get, I don't know, some sort of bath jets or something?"

Instantaneously a panel on the wall beside me slid open showing a dozen buttons, none of them labeled.

"O…kayyyy," I said pressing one.

I was startled as the entire bathroom lit up with thousands of brightly coloured lights flashing in the room. I quickly pressed it again and the room went back to its normal golden glow.

"Well," I said out loud. "That one makes no sense. It's a bathroom not a disco."

Four attempts later, bubbles up to my ears, and half drowned I found the button to turn on the jets. I felt the water swirl to life and sighed. Finally. Why did even taking a bath on this ship have to be so complicated? As I lay my head back and sank deeper into the water I felt my muscles relax and the tension I hadn't realised I'd had ease.

I sat there for a good while thinking of nothing at all, and then I thought about everything. I realised that right now I could be dead. If the Doctors hadn't found me, come for me, I'd be dead I was sure. It made me realise how little thought I'd put into my life.

I once believed that life was a gift. I thought whatever I wanted I would someday possess. Is that greed, or only youth? Is it hope or stupidity? As far as I was concerned the future was a book I could write to suit myself, chapter after chapter of good fortune. All was right with the world, and my place in it was assured, or so I thought then. I had no idea that all stories unfold like white flowers, petal by petal, each in its own time and season, dependent on circumstance and fate. The future is something no one can foretell.

I'd learned at a young age that the world was not a place for a child with my pointless dreams and wishes. The world was a dark and scary place. Large and full of shadows. A monster around every corner waiting for the innocent to stray from the path of light, arms clawing and grasping for what wasn't theirs to touch. I had no idea that even in the darkest world, there are some wishes that can come true. Now I understand that those are the ones to think over most carefully. Those are the wishes that can wound just as surely as the sharpest arrow.

Lyrics came to my mind as if they were being written inside my brain by some otherworldly creature. I suddenly felt the desire to write, to sing. I had to get it down before they went away. I scrambled to a sitting position focusing on the tune in my head, the words circling through my mind like leaves on the wind.

"Paper," I called hurriedly. "I need paper and a pen!"

Something thumped onto the bathroom floor beside me and I reached my hand over the edge. I grasped the notebook attached to a clipboard and the pen and pulled it onto my knees not worrying about the fact I was soaking wet. I sat in the tub my knees pulled up to my chest, writing frantically as the water swirled around me and the bubbles grew higher and higher. I hummed and sang and wrote for I didn't know how long.

I scratched out lines, editing bits here and there, and then singing it out loud testing the flow and drawing the notes. I didn't hear the knock on the bathroom door; I was so engrossed with getting this song perfect. I started singing the first bit again, not noticing the door being gently opened. I summoned a breath and sang louder, feeling the music flow through me, closing my eyes and focusing.

"You were my conscience, so solid now you're like water. And we started drowning, not like we'd sink any farther. But I let my heart go; it's somewhere down at the bottom. But I'll get a new one and come back for the hope that you've stolen," I sang.

"You sound amazing," I heard Donna say and I jumped.

The clipboard and pen shot out of my hands as I quickly whipped around to face her standing in the door. Donna ducked out of the way of the flying notepad apologizing profusely.

"Sorry, I hadn't meant to startle you. It's just you've been two hours and…"

"Two hours?" I asked confused.

How could I have possibly been sitting in this tub for that long? Wouldn't I have known it? I heard the Doctor's voice just on the other side of the bathroom door.

"Yeah, she's fine. Scared her a bit that's all," Donna told him.

"I'll be right out," I told her hurriedly.

Donna picked up the notebook and looked it over.

"May I read this while you finish up?"

"Yeah, um, sure. Okay," I said distracted by the rapid thudding of both hearts.

She took the notebook and closed the door behind her. I stared at the door a moment before quickly washing my hair and emptying the tub while I rinsed under the water faucet. I got out of the tub dripping wet and dried off as best I could in a hurry and then ran a brush through my long hair. I realised the clothes I'd worn earlier were nowhere to be found. I looked around the entire bathroom and then opened the cupboards. Nothing.

"Can I get some clothes please?" I asked the air quietly, not wanting Donna or the Doctor to think I was crazy.

Nothing happened.

"Underwear? A dress? A shirt? Anything?"

A pair of socks appeared on the toilet and I stared at them. Bright pink with purple polka dots and lace around the ankles.

Ha ha, I thought to myself and sighed. The TARDIS was messing with me. And she was not letting me have what I needed. Clothes to cover myself. I wrapped the towel tightly around me and then pulled my long hair over my shoulders to cover the towel and my chest. I braced myself and then opened the bathroom door. The Doctor was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed looking down at the notebook Donna had in her hands. They looked up at me in surprise.

"Umm, sorry. She wouldn't get me any clothes…" I tried to explain feeling the heat rising to my cheeks.

The Doctor politely looked the opposite direction and pretended not to notice, although I noticed he began to blink an awful lot. I mentally thanked him for being so much of a gentleman. My blood was racing and I couldn't ignore the fact that, aside from the towel, I was completely naked and he was completely hot. Donna on the other hand was grinning delightedly at the situation.

"I'm so glad the TARDIS doesn't mess with me as she does the two of you!" She said.

I made my way across the room and pulled open the closet door. The clothes I remembered being inside were nowhere to be found. I turned to look at them.

"It's empty!" I said surprised. "She's took everything!"

I saw the Doctor try not to smile but it quickly grew larger on his face.

"I'll run to the wardrobe and try to find something you'd like," he offered.

"Umm, thanks," I said going redder.

He launched himself away from the wall and headed out of the room. I sat on the bed next to Donna as she flipped the page in the notebook.

"This is really good. And it sounds even better when you sing it," she told me.

"Not really, but I had to get it down on paper before I forgot the words," I told her.

"No really. You sounded amazing in there! Have you ever thought of trying to get into the industry?" she asked.

I stared at her in surprise. Why on Earth would I want to go into the music industry? The whole idea bothered me. People knowing who I was everywhere I went, paparazzi, not being left alone, stalked. I so did not want to be a celebrity, ever.

"Oh, no!" I said. "I'm never doing that. Never ever."

Donna looked surprised.

"If I had your voice and your writing talent I'd love to get a record label."

"Well then you do it," I told her. "But don't mention it was my idea."

She laughed and the Doctor came in with a handful of clothes.

"They were Martha's. They should work alright until you get home," he said handing the pile to me.

"Thank you," I said taking them from him.

I headed for the bathroom and changed quickly into the jeans and the dark green t-shirt. I looped the belt around my waist and threw on the black leather jacket. I picked up the black boots that had been at the bottom of the pile and slipped them on buckling the sides. Looking into the mirror I decided the look wasn't half bad. I opened the counter drawers and found rubber bands to put my hair back in a high blond pony and left the bathroom.

The Doctor looked up at me and stared hard while Donna gave me a thumbs up.

"Looks good," she said. "Very G.I. Jane."

I laughed at that and then stared worryingly at the Doctor whose face was a mask of despondency.

"Are you alright?" I asked him concerned.

In the very short while I'd seen him this look was new to me, usually he was all smiles and teasing stares. Sure, he'd been quite irate with me when I'd refused to tell him what Marie Antoinette had said, but even that look wasn't as dark as this one. Donna looked at him and stood up equally concerned.

"Doctor?" Donna asked drawing him out of whatever state he was in.

He glanced at her quickly and plastered a large smile on his face.

"Sorry! You just looked like someone I… anyways. Now that you're ready let's get you home, yeah? Lots to do I'm sure," he said animatedly and stuffed his hands deep in his pockets as he left the room.

"What was that?" I asked Donna.

Donna looked at me from head to toe and then blinked.

"Oh," she said.

"Oh? What's 'oh'?"

"Do you, do you know about Jenny?" she asked me quietly.

I thought about that. She must be referring to the girl Martha had told me about, the Doctor's… daughter.

"The one you met on that planet? The one made from his tissue sample?" I asked for confirmation.

Donna nodded.

"You have, you have some similarities to her. Especially dressed as you are."

"Like what?"

"Well, for starters: the combat boots, the green shirt, the long blonde hair pulled back in that pony. You're the same height as well, I think."

I stared at her and then down at myself.

"Should I change? I don't want to upset him!" I said worriedly.

"No, no. He'll be fine. Come on, let's go keep him company."

I followed her out silently worrying over the fact I resembled the daughter lost to him. But I needn't have worried because when we got to the control room he was back to his happy bouncy self, all thoughts of Jenny apparently forgotten.

I perched myself on the battered control room seat and watched Donna and the Doctor maneuver their way around the console. They laughed and joked with each other about places they'd been and things they'd done but it all sounded like nonsense to me. I had no idea what they were talking about, but I wished I did. Oh, I wished I could see the things that they'd seen. I wished I was Donna.

When I was a little girl, I believed that people could get what they wished for if they wished hard enough and long enough and were good enough, and although I'm twenty-one now and long ago stopped believing in things like the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus, and the Easter Bunny, I never completely stopped believing there was something magical in the world around us. Somewhere, there were angels watching over us, considering our wishes and dreams and occasionally, when the time was right and we were deserving, they granted us a wish.

Daddy taught me this. When I was still small enough to sit comfortably on his muscular right forearm and be carried around like a little princess, he would tell me to close my eyes really tight and wish until I saw my angel nearby, her wings fluttering like a bumble bee.

Daddy said everyone had an angel assigned to him or her at birth, and the angels did all they could to get humans to believe. He told me that when we are very little it's much easier to believe in things that grown-ups would call imagination. That's why, when we're little, angels will appear before us sometimes. I think some of us hold on a little longer or a little harder to that world of make believe. Some of us are not afraid to admit we dream even though we're older. We really do make a wish when we break a chicken bone or blow out our birthday candles or see a shooting star, and we wait and hope, even expect that it will come true.

Right now, standing beside the Doctor and Donna, I wished harder than ever that I didn't have to go home. But now I knew there were angels out there, and they were gone. There were no angels to grant me my wish and with every lever and every bump my dream was getting farther away. My place wasn't among the stars with these two magnificent people, it was on Earth where every dark secret, every nightmare, every ghost waited to envelop me again and drag me further into the darkness.

"Hey, you alright?" Donna asked plopping in the seat next to me.

"What? Oh, yeah," I said distractedly.

"Are you sure? You look like you've seen a ghost," Donna said.

"Yeah, I was just thinking that's all."

"Home sweet home!" The Doctor called happily.

The Doctor dashed towards the doors and swung them open peering out. He pulled his head back in grinning.

"Yup, definitely got it right."

Donna led me out onto the street and I stared up at my apartment building and looked back at them. I took a deep breath and summoned my best smile.

"Well, I'd say it was fun but most of it really wasn't," I said honestly. "But you know? If I had to do it all again, I wouldn't change a thing."

Donna smiled at me sympathetically and came forward to give me a hug.

"We'll be back," she whispered in my ear. "I swear. Just you wait and see."

She pulled back and smiled heading back inside the TARDIS and standing just inside the doors. The Doctor stepped towards me, hands in pockets, and met my eyes.

"I'm sorry," he said. "For what we got you into."

"You didn't do anything except help. You couldn't have known what was going to happen anymore than I would have," I told him.

"You keep writing," the Doctor told me pointing a finger and changing the subject. "You have a talent. Put it to use."

I laughed shaking my head.

"I wouldn't call it talent. Anyone can write lyrics to a song."

"Yes, but not everyone can write brilliant ones or sing them as beautifully."

I shook my head doubtfully, he was just being nice. We stood there smiling at each other and he held out his hand to me. I took it but instead of him shaking it he pulled me into a hug and I smiled, resting my head against his chest. I tried to commit his scent to memory in case I never saw him again. I felt my body respond but ignored it.

"We'll be back," he said. "And we'll tell you about every detail of every place we go."

"You'd better," I warned stepping away. "Or else I'll hold a grudge for the rest of your life. So I guess…"

"No goodbyes," he interrupted me. "We'll be back before you know it."

"No goodbyes," I agreed.

He laughed and headed back to the TARDIS, wrapping his arm around Donna's shoulders as he entered the door. They looked out at me, smiled, and shut the door. Moments later the TARDIS began to dematerialise with that wheezing sound that would forever be printed in my mind. And when the wind died down and there was nothing but silence I turned to my apartment and headed for the door. Back into the life that I'd never be able to run from.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXDONNAXXX**

"Do you suppose she'll be alright?"

"Of course," the Doctor said. "Why wouldn't she be?"

"It's just, I don't think I would be after all that's happened in such a short time," she told him honestly.

The Doctor watched her attentively as she walked her way around the console. He stopped her as she made her way past and she looked up at him.

"It'll be hard," he admitted. "But she'll be okay. We'll see her soon and you can check on her yourself."

Donna nodded her head and leaned against the console staring up at the ceiling as he so often did when deep in thought.

"What's gotten into you?" The Doctor asked intrigued. "I've never seen you so edgy or worried."

"I don't know," Donna said thoughtfully. "I just feel like I should be doing something for her. Watching out for her or something. Leaving her on her own after that just feels… wrong."

The Doctor smiled softly at her. If he didn't know any better he'd say she was having a bit of motherly instinct. He'd seen it with Jenny as well.

"We'll be back in no time. Hey," he said forcing her to look at him. "Trust me, I'm a Time Lord! There isn't any time or date I can't get us."

"Yeah, except for the ones that we actually want to go to," she said sarcastically.

The Doctor laughed and dashed around to the other side of the console. He peered around it and stared at her, grinning with boyish enthusiasm.

"Good to have you back Miss Noble! Now, where should we go first?" he asked.

Donna looked at him and smiled.

"Someplace that we won't end up being nearly killed… or separated for that matter. I've spent long enough being trapped without you." She said.

The smile on the Doctor's face faltered a moment but he quickly distracted himself with setting coordinates. He bumped into her on his third round and grinned as she fell into that usual Donna enthusiasm.

"So where are we going?" she asked, unable to keep the building excitement out of her voice.

"Anywhere and everywhere," he said cryptically.

"Make it good. No, make it brilliant!"

"Pampanpara it is!"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**


	17. Chapter 17 being revised

**Author's Note: THIS CHAPTER WILL BE UPDATED SOON… you can of course continue reading if you wish, but eventually you'll want to come back and REREAD it because there may be some drastic changes in the chapter. Fair warning. As much as it may suck you may want to hold off and read more later. Don't worry, the update is scheduled for release by 6/22/13.**

**XXXXXXCHAPTERSEVENTEENXXXXXX**

**XXXJACKXXX**

"Where the hell have you been? Jack!" Gwen shouted following behind him up the stairs to his office.

"Visiting," Jack said whipping off his long navy coat. "With the Doctor."

"Him again? What could possibly have been so important for you do disappear for two weeks? You send us out to catch an alien blow fish and when we come back you and Martha are gone!" Owen said angrily.

"And what was that call about? The first one about a girl getting crushed by a cabinet?" Tosh added to the questions.

"Yeah! And the call about faeries attacking you! Jack we've dealt with the faeries before! How could you just go after them like that?" Gwen asked angrily.

"Listen!" Jack said spinning around to face them. "If you all give me some time to breath I can tell you all you want to know. But first off, Ianto, coffee. Tosh get me all records you can on a Miranda Tate, America, Michigan. Anything and everything as far back as it'll go."

Ianto stared at him like he wanted to say something but nodded his head and obediently left without a word. Tosh looked quite irritated but followed orders as was expected of her, even if she wasn't happy about it. Owen and Gwen on the other hand stood there quite defiantly giving Jack the full presence of their irritation.

"You seem to be making a habit of disappearing and then just coming back and giving orders," Owen glared.

"Yeah," Jack said standing face to face with him. "I can do that. I'm the boss; you wanna make something of it?"

Owen met his eyes and Jack lifted his eyebrow, waiting.

"Didn't think so," Jack said turning and heading for the office. "You guys want details you'll get them. Meet me in the meeting room in half an hour."

Jack slammed the door to his office and shut the blinds. Gwen stood there with Owen staring at the office door and leaned in close to him.

"Has he ever shut those blinds before?" Gwen asked under her breath.

"I don't think so. Makes you really wonder now doesn't it?" Owen grumbled.

"Let's go find Tosh. I have a feeling she'll find the answers we need first."

Owen followed her away glancing back at the closed office doors only once.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXMANDYXXX**

I spent my first three days back at home doing the most mundane of things. Cleaning, watching TV, talking late into the night with Shaye… I was enjoying the peace and quiet after the chaotic events in the time I'd spent with the Doctor. But I also found that I couldn't stand sitting still long. My apartment felt different to me, and although nothing had changed it didn't feel like home.

I have to admit to myself that I don't even _feel_ the same anymore. My mind feels overfilled with memories that I'd long ago buried. It's like my head is a basement and my brain is the piping running through it. I feel like those pipes have suddenly burst and the memories are slowly spilling out, getting higher and higher, and I feel like I'm drowning.

Now more than ever the darkness feels like its creeping up on me. Every noise makes me jump, every shadow is a monster, and every _thing_ has me on edge. I know I have to move past this. I have to bury my memories again. I have to lock them away and move on, never looking back. But how can I bury my memories of the Time War now that I've remembered? How can I ignore the memories of my families, as painful as they were? How can I throw away the reminders of the hell I've been through when every terrible thing that's happened to me has made me what I am? How can I bury my memories of the faeries? Of the Doctors? Of those creatures that….

"Mandy? _Sweetie!_" I heard the panicked voice and looked up confused.

I felt the sudden sharp pain in my hand and looked down startled. I sighed and frowned at the blood dripping from my finger.

"I'm sorry," I told Shaye getting out of my seat. "I guess I've been a bit out of it."

While I'd been drifting off in my dark thoughts I'd managed to cut open my own finger with my steak knife. Shaye had made a magnificent steak dinner, I didn't dare tell her I didn't eat red meat, and I couldn't even stay focused long enough to cut it. I felt Shaye's eyes on my back as I ran my hand under the sink to wash the cut, it wasn't too deep, it'd heal. Like everything else in my life.

"What's gotten into you?" Shaye asked behind me, I heard the frustration in her voice. "Ever since John dropped you off you've been different. Hell ever since I came back you've been different!"

"I know," I said turning around and squeezing paper towel around my finger. "I'm sorry. It's just a lot of things happened and I, I guess I'm just not as okay as I thought I was."

"But what?" She asked me for what felt like the hundredth time. "What happened? You haven't been like this since your family…"

I glared at her for even bringing it up. She shifted her gaze and fell silent.

"I'm sorry," she said picking up her food and carrying it to the trash. "I'm heading up to bed."

I suddenly felt terrible for putting Shaye through all this. All the hard work she'd put into making the steaks and the potatoes and the vegetables… everything was fresh and everything was perfect. And I'd ruined it.

"No, Shaye wait," I called after her. "Come finish dinner! I'm sorry!"

"Its fine," I heard her say heading for the stairs. "I'm not hungry anymore."

I stared after her and felt the tears roll down my face. What's happened to me? How could I treat her so coldly? She's the only one that knows all my secrets, all the skeletons in my closet. She'd stood by me when I didn't even stand by myself. And this was how I treated her?

I threw my paper towel away, found a Band-Aid to wrap on my finger, and went to find Shaye. I had to make this right. I had to move on; I had to go back to being me, whoever 'me' was. Because if I didn't I was going to lose my friend. I couldn't sit around feeling sorry for myself. I can't change what happened to me and I can't ignore it. I just have to move on. Tomorrow I was going to get up and get out there. I would find a job, maybe do some shopping or go to movie. Tomorrow would be the first day of a new life and I was determined to make it a good one, start it off right. But for now, I had some apologies to make.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXDONNAXXX**

"Ok. What is that?" asked Donna, shouting over the shrill bleeping noise that screamed out of the console.

"It's a signal," the Doctor replied, never once taking his eyes away from the screen before him. "A beacon. An alarm. No… It's _stranger_ than that."

All at once the TARDIS shook violently, nearly knocking them both off their feet.

"And what was _that_?" Donna asked, bracing herself and struggling to keep balance.

"Well, I'm not sure what _that_ was," said the Doctor. "I think we _may_ have hit some sort of gravitational speed bump."

"A gravitational _speed bump_? They have _speed bumps_ in space? How fast were we _going_?"

In the centre of the console, the glowing, crystalline columns groaned and wheezed, as if wrestling some unimaginable force. The lights began to dim, the interior of the ship descending into gloom.

"Well, not a _speed_ bump _as such_," the Doctor said, completely unfazed by the dimming of the lights and the monstrous cacophony being made by the TARDIS. "More an abnormality. Smaller than a black hole. _Much_ smaller than a black hole. But this is where the signal's coming from."

There was a sudden terrific clanging sound, like that of a monstrous hammer slamming down onto an impossibly large anvil, and the TARDIS stopped moving.

"Ok. I think we've landed." With a knowing grin, the Doctor looked up at Donna for the first time in an age. Though the engines of the TARDIS had stopped wheezing and the outside world was quiet, the inside was still filled with that high pitched bleeping.

"So is it like a distress signal?" Donna asked.

The Doctor nodded.

"That's _exactly_ what its like," he told her. "The strange thing is, it's a _transtemporal_ distress signal."

"English, please?" Donna asked exasperatedly.

"It's a distress signal that crosses time. Very sophisticated, in its own way. A spaceship leaves Planet A and travels to Planet B, six light months away. When it gets to Planet B, something malfunctions. Basically, the distress signal travels _back in time_ and reaches Planet A shortly after the spaceship has left, so a rescue party can be organised right away."

Donna stared at him like he was mental.

"But if the signal travels back in time, can't they just send the message to themselves to stop them going to Planet B in the first place?"

"Oh, Donna Noble… So much to learn. Paradoxes, space-time, closed time-like loops…"

"Ok… So where are we?" Donna said interrupting.

The Doctor beckoned Donna over to his side of the console, and pointed at one of the monitors. Peering at the screen, Donna saw the image of a solar system with twelve planets spreading out from its central star. On the outer edges of the system was a flashing green dot.

The Doctor drew a circle around the screen with his finger tip.

"This is the Battani 045 system. That planet there is Jahi Minor. That planet _there_… well, I can't even _pronounce_ the name of _that_ planet. That _there_ is the comet Schuler-Khan, and _that_…" He pointed at the flashing dot. "That's us. Thing is… We've landed on something big and solid. And there's nothing big or solid this far out."

He looked across the console room to the door.

"You want to go out there," Donna said. It was a statement, not a question.

The Doctor returned his attention to her and smiled. It was a strange, inscrutable smile that took a second or two to reach his eyes. After what had happened to Donna last time he was incredibly wary. Usually he loved a good mystery but he was suddenly nervous of what he'd be leading Donna into. But a mystery was a mystery and he really _did_ love those.

"_Well_," he said dragging the word out, as he left the console and made his way towards the door with his back to her, his usual excitement growing. "There _is_ a distress signal. I'd be breaching all kinds of intergalactic conduct if I didn't at least _try_ and find out where it came from. Plus… big mysterious object which shouldn't be here. It would be lazy not to investigate further, wouldn't it? I mean… wouldn't it?"

He had opened the door before Donna could reply, and behind his back Donna rolled her eyes. She had grown accustomed to the Doctor's ways. If there was a mystery on the other side of that door, he was bound to open it.

The Doctor turned around gesturing towards the outside world with both arms, like a magician unveiling his latest trick.

"Come on!" he said, beaming. "Onwards and upwards!"

Donna ran across the console room and together they took their first, tentative, steps outside.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXJACKXXX**

"Jack…" Gwen said in his ear.

Jack stared at the documents in front of him. Tosh had printed out everything she could on Miranda a couple days ago. He hadn't realised how much there'd be in the files. Gwen was shifting through some of the pages reading with a grim face. Whoever this poor girl was, she was surprised she wasn't in some sort of hospital getting lifetime mental help.

"Are you sure this girl is…safe?"

Jack sighed and rubbed his face.

"I've met her. I've spent time with her, not much it's true, but she didn't act like anybody who'd have lived through all this. It can't be the same one. There must be some mistake."

"There's no mistake, Jack," Gwen said handing him a pile of photographs. "You said yourself; this is the girl your Doctor saved."

Jack spread the photos out in front of him. The pictures started of Miranda at about eight years old, long dark hair, and the cutest eyes and face he'd seen; still young and full of innocence, untouched by the realities of the world. She'd been a beautiful child, sitting on the lap of her mother and father who, despite the smiles on their faces, looked worried and uneasy.

In the next photo Miranda was a year older, taken right after she'd been placed in the court system after her mother had died and her father committed suicide with the poor girl standing in the same room. Her hair was a shade lighter; her eyes had lost their sparkle, her face pale and waxen from crying and lack of sleep.

Jack watched as Gwen shifted through the other photos. As Miranda got older her hair got lighter, her eyes got darker, and she smiled less and less. She picked up the sheets of paper and read them again.

"Physical, mental, and possible sexual abuse. Jack, the shit that goes on in the court system over there! She was moved over thirty-seven times by the time she was seventeen. Jack, this girl has been through a hell of a lot…"

"That's not even the worst of it," Jack told her darkly as he handed her a few documents she hadn't read yet.

She read them and looked up at him in horror.

Miranda Tate was adopted into a one parent home by a man by the name of Sergio Conte. He had two other daughters by the names of Morgana and Ava and a younger adopted child named Marla. According to social services he was a well-to-do businessman and was well known in the community as being a charming and influential man who loved his girls dearly.

Mr. Conte seemed to move his family around a lot and after a series of disappearances all coinciding with the areas and times he lived in them an interrogation was made. Miranda had lived in his care for eight years by the time enough evidence was gathered to make the proper arrests.

Mr. Conte and his two daughters were discovered to be aliens and disposed of immediately. Both of his daughters had raised Miranda those eight years in the art of seduction, to help lure young men into their home, where Mr. Conte would then feed on them and dispose of the body. According to the records it was discovered Mr. Conte was sexually involved with his daughters once they turned seventeen. Miranda, who'd turned seventeen the month before the arrests had refused to say whether or not he had done anything to her or not. She'd also refused all medical attention.

Marla, who was only nine years old, was placed back in the court system and had all memories wiped. Because Miranda was legally an adult she didn't have anywhere to go and she moved in with the Rosser family whose oldest daughter was a close friend. The Rosser's kept Miranda for a year before she moved again and got her own apartment. From there she seemed to get better. Never causing trouble, working hard, and living a considerably normal life.

Many teachers and counselors described her as quiet and wary of people. One stated 'she seems to fear anyone she meets; suffering from a condition we call elective mutism.' When asked to explain what this meant she simply said. 'She's reluctant to communicate, to express herself. She refuses to speak to anyone unless absolutely forced or singled out. She never says a peep, like she's afraid of her own voice. I'd go as far to say she's even afraid of her own shadow'.

Gwen stared at him.

"She was raised by aliens?" she said disbelieving. "And no one thought that being raised to bring home a boy for lunch to daddy was a big enough deal to get her any help? No counseling? Nothing? They just set her loose without wiping her memories?"

Jack just grunted as he got out of his chair and shook his head.

"That's America…. I don't get it," he said finally. "She isn't how any of these people have described her. She seemed light hearted, free-spirited. Nothing she did showed any sign of child abuse or any of this. She sure as hell wasn't a mute, bit shy I suppose at times. But she was friendly."

Gwen thought about it.

"You said that she's actually a Time Lord, like the Doctor? Two hearts, respiratory bypass…"

"Yeah. All that and part Seraph to top it off, although I didn't see any sign that showed she was a Seraph," Jack said sitting on the edge of his desk.

"You told Owen she had her memories sealed away before coming to Earth…"

Jack nodded.

"So is it possible that as she got older she just buried the bad stuff away? Maybe the part of her brain that had been sealed off from her slowly just took those memories and allowed her to cope…"

Jack thought it over; it was possible, even likely that she could have done that unknowingly. Burying those memories away as her mother had done to her when she was a child.

"But if she's suddenly had those memories awakened don't you think they're going to do something to her mentally? Jack, she hasn't had to deal with this stuff. Having it all come swarming in at once, it could drive her mad. Is she with the Doctor now?"

"No. The Doctor dropped me off a week ago. I'm sure he's taken her back home," Jack said looking at the phone.

_A week?_ Gwen wondered. Jack had only been back at Torchwood three days! So where'd he been the other four? She stored that question away for another day; there were more important things to deal with.

"Jack, I don't think she should be left alone," Gwen said uneasily. "She could be a danger to herself…"

"Or others," Jack finished for her. "I have to call Martha."

Gwen nodded setting the papers down.

"Give her my love," she said leaving the office.

On the phone Jack dialed Martha's private number.

"Martha? I'm bringing you back to Torchwood…"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXMANDYXXX**

After being back on Earth a week I found myself falling back into the normality of everyday life. Shaye and I were still at odds and ends and I decided it was best if she went back to her dads. I'd been so unreliable the past few days. One second I was sitting there laughing with her, the next I was screaming her head off. It didn't help that I wasn't getting enough sleep. It seemed I couldn't make it through the night without waking up in a cold sweat or scaring myself awake by screaming in my dreams.

I started work today and I didn't know how I was going to manage it as exhausted and moody as I was. I supposed I should probably go to a doctor, but I was terrified of what they'd find and do to me. I had two hearts beating now. Someone would surely notice and when they did would they want to keep me? Lock me away? What if, unexpectedly, my wings just… popped out of nowhere? Granted I hadn't seen anything that could give away what I was, nor could I find any bumps or odd muscle where my wings had been, but I couldn't take any chances. I'd end up as a guinea pig for them to poke and prod and dissect to figure out.

I didn't understand it. How could they be there one minute and then just… be gone the next? I was full of fears now it seemed. All those buried feelings and memories were cropping up everywhere I went. My nightmares followed me into the day; there was no rest for me now.

I looked at myself in the mirror. My eyes were dark and looked so much older than they should. It was like I'd aged centuries in just three weeks. My hair, although still long and blonde, was twisted and tangled. I grabbed my brush, forcing the bristles through my hair, and brushed until it was shiny and straight. I put what felt like five gallons of concealer on my eyes to hide the shadows and applied some mascara.

There was nothing I could do about my eyes being bloodshot and red. I double checked my uniform and turned in a circle to get every angle. I'd landed a job at the Little Bohemia Café and their uniform was very chic. Usually the business women came in to get coffee, but they never stayed long. It was the ones in high school or college that dominated the café.

I adjusted my cream sweater, ran my hands down my distressed skinnies, and slipped into my wedge boots. I double checked that both feather earrings were securely in place, and straightened my feather necklace.

"Well, show time!" I said snatching up my purse.

It was about a twenty minute walk to work so I had to leave early. I was just heading for the door when my mobile went off. I checked the name and flipped it open.

"Zollie! Hey," I called happily locking the door behind me and jogging down the steps.

"_Hey, what are you doing tonight?_" He asked.

"I've gotta work until eight but after that nothing."

"_Where'd you find a job at?_"

"Little Bo."

"_Nice. You'll fit right in there. Manager's cool too. Tell her Zollie says 'sup'._"

"Will do. So what's up?"

"_Well Battle of the Bands is at Skeletones this weekend and I need a crash pad._"

"Ah, no prob. You can take the spare room," I offered walking around the corner.

"_Thanks,_" Zollie was saying. "_I'm hoping this year we take the gold…_"

"What gold? Oh, right! The year supply of what? Doritos and Red Bull?"

"_Yeah, yeah. Not the point. Last year Scott Abrahm's band got first place and we got landed with second._"

"Second is an impressive place, Zol. Especially when there are a limited number of positions available to enter. Second out of twenty-five is amazing!"

"_Yeah but we've taken second and third for five years in a row now. I know why it's just…_"

Zollie paused.

"Why do you think you don't get first?" I inquired.

"_Cause we need a singer. Someone other than me. A chick. Good to look at and better to hear._"

I laughed.

"Good luck with that!"

"_So who have you been doing? John?_"

Had it been that terribly obvious I fancied him in the few hours they were around my friends? I felt the heat creep up my neck and into my face and giggled nervously.

"Nope. Not anybody," I admitted.

"_Shut up! Seriously?_"

"Yeah, believe it or not I don't have to 'mess around' once a month to survive," I teased.

"_Once a month?_" he said horrified. "_Man I can't go three days._"

"Neither can Shaye," I laughed.

"_Yup, that's why we get on so brilliantly. Speaking of which she still stayin' with you?_"

"Umm," I said awkwardly. "Yeah, but she's moving back in a week or two."

"_Sweet so we can all hang out. I'm coming tonight if you don't mind._"

"Nope. Shaye'll be home so just ring the bell."

"_Cool, I'll see you tonight then._"

"Uh-huh, see ya."

I hung up just as I got to work and took a deep breath. First day jitters. Oh, boy. I opened the café door and prepared myself for another wonderful job of waitressing and bar tending.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

Work had went brilliantly and when I got home Zollie was going through the box I kept all the songs I wrote and Shaye was watching TV.

"Hey, how was work?" Shaye asked muting the TV.

"Amazing!" I said and told them all about my day. "How about you?"

"Work's work. Went in, stocked shelves, came home," Shaye said with a shrug.

"These are new. Glad you're writing again," Zollie said lifting a dozen papers.

"Oh, yeah." I said looking at the ones he held. "I wrote that when I was on…vacation."

"You never did say where you went," Zollie said looking up at me.

Shaye stared at him horrified waiting for the bomb inside me to go off as it had all week. I shrugged.

"No where special. I spent most of my time sleeping cause I got sick," I said vaguely.

"Uh-_huh_," Zollie said slowly. "So, plan on giving me a mini concert tonight?"

"Huh?" I asked confused. "Why?"

"Cause I like this song, this song, and… this one. And you should sing them for me."

I sat on the floor with him and tossed my purse onto the couch.

"I haven't found a melody for those yet," I said discarding two.

I looked at the last song 'Monster'. I'd written that in the bath on the TARDIS. I smiled remembering how Donna had scared the hell out me when she came in. Then I remembered how the TARDIS had stolen my clothes. That was an unnecessary track of memories.

"I can do this one though," I said and hummed out the tune trying to find the notes before singing it.

"Hang on, I'll get my guitar," Zollie said leaving the room.

"Are you hungry?" Shaye asked me.

"No, but thanks," I told her feeling bad for how I'd been treating her this week. "Hey, listen…"

"Alright! Let's rock!" Zollie said strumming his guitar like a rock star.

Shaye smiled at him and I sighed. I'd have to apologise when we went to bed.

"Okay, let me have a look at those notes," he said taking the notepaper.

He practiced the first couple chords and frowned before changing notes a bit. A couple minutes later he nudged me with his elbow.

"Okay, sing."

I took a deep breath and started singing as he started playing his guitar a line before me.

"I'll stop the whole world; I'll stop the whole world from turning into a monster. In this life, don't you ever wonder how we survive? Well now that you're gone the world is ours," I finished singing.

"That shit sounds amazing," Zollie said.

"Thanks," I said blushing.

"I love the lyrics, how'd you come up with them?" Shaye asked.

I looked at her and shrugged.

"There's been a lot of monsters in my life."

"Hey, here's an idea," Zollie said not noticing the awkward silence that had fallen between us. "Why don't you sing for our band?"

I looked up at him in surprise.

"You're joking right?" I asked incredulously.

"No, this song is great! And you sing beautifully. All those years of choir are going to waste y'know. If we played this and you sang I bet we could take first easy!"

Zollie was getting excited just thinking about it and I just kept shaking my head.

"Come on, Mandy!" Shaye said joining Zollie. "You'd be amazing! I'd come and watch."

"I don't know," I said warily. "I'm not that good. And there're so many people to watch…"

"Yeah but we'll be right there with you," Zollie said. "You just gotta face those fears."

The Next Doctor's face crossed my mind and I smiled softly looking down into my lap. He'd said the same thing.

"_You and your phobias. Though I admit they certainly are serious one's for you. I'm telling you, you'll learn to get over them right quick traveling with me! Arachnophobia, claustrophobia, acrophobia, nyctophobia. All of them can be overcome in time. For now let's work on that performance anxiety."_

I'd sang in front of a whole royal court by myself _and_ with a complete stranger, well not _complete_ I supposed. Singing in front of one small room with Zollie at my back and Shaye guarding my front seemed, I don't know, like nothing now.

"Okay," I said after a pause. "But what would I sing?"

Zollie and Shaye slapped palms.

"That, dumbass," Zollie said pointing at the song I'd sung. "The band'll love it."

And so we spent the rest of the night practicing the song while Zollie wrote out the notes to give to his band. So far, it'd been the best night I'd had all week. No crying, no nightmares, no sudden bouts of anger. Maybe I would be okay after all…

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXJACKXXX**

Martha followed the waiter in a sleek gold top and pants that hugged her slender and deliciously curved body. Jack couldn't stop the smile growing on his face.

"And the nightingale arrives," he grinned.

"It's only been a couple days," she laughed sitting down.

"Two days too long," Jack joked.

"Can I interest you in something to drink?" the waiter asked.

"Just water, thank you."

They watched the waiter walk away and then Martha leaned over the table nervously.

"Do the… um, others know…?"

"Know that you and I are currently sitting in a restaurant courting each other and that afterwards we'll be having an intimate evening in a pay by the month apartment?" Jack asked teasingly.

"Shh!" Martha hissed glancing nervously at the other couples.

Since she'd met him that first time she'd been intrigued by his good looks and charming personality. Life was much more exciting with Captain Jack Harkness in your company. Since she'd kissed him goodbye that first visit to Torchwood she'd wondered what it'd be like to do it again.

Now that they were actually together, and secretly on top of that, she was nervous as hell. They hadn't let anyone know where their interests in each other lay. Her family didn't know she'd even broken off her engagement to Tom Milligan, who'd she'd found straddling some redheaded spitfire in her apartment one night when she'd supposed to have been working late.

Jack ordered his meal when the waiter returned and she told the waiter she'd have the same. They spent the next fifteen minutes chatting about work, avoiding talking about what probably needed to be. When their meals came they both fell uncharacteristically quiet. Now that the evening was officially in full swing Martha felt her stomach flutter with nerves.

Jack didn't think the date was going well. He'd made reservations at the nicest restaurant in town, but in spite of the candlelit ambience and the secluded location of their booth, he and Martha weren't communicating.

They'd had a long discussion about Miranda's situation and about bringing her to Torchwood to keep an eye on her. They'd also discussed the possibility of Martha coming back to Torchwood permanently. Neither of these topics he wanted to bring up again, not now anyways. Tomorrow. But not tonight.

She toyed with her meal, nibbling on tiny bites of steak, stirring the sour cream on her baked potato.

"Is something wrong with your food?" he asked.

She looked up from her plate. "No. It's good. Is your meal all right?"

He nodded. "It's fine."

He'd eaten half of his steak and a large portion of his side dishes, which was at least twice as much as she'd consumed. He reached for his beer and took a swig. He suspected she was nervous about their sexual arrangement. Hell, he was nervous, too. Worried about pleasing her, about making her first time special.

When she'd embarrassedly stumbled over her admittance of her inexperience he'd about fell over. They'd been aboard the Next Doctor's TARDIS waiting for some kind of message from the Crusnik. He'd followed her to her room on one of her many frustrated explosions hoping to calm her down.

…_**flashback**__…_

"_They'll be alright. We'll get them out of there," he'd promised her._

"_But we don't know that! They could be over there getting tortured Jack!" she knocked over a mirror in her frustration, staring at the shattered glass as tears bubbled in her eyes._

_He'd wanted to wrap her in his arms and take away all that fear, all that pain, and protect her from having to feel like that again. So he had. And she'd collapsed in his arms an emotional wreck. He'd kissed those tears away and smoothed back her dark tresses. And when his hands had found their way under her shirt she'd suddenly stopped cold._

_He'd been afraid he'd gone too far but was relieved and terrified when she'd said, "Jack I've… I've never actually… I mean… at least not…."_

…_**flashback ends**__…_

And he'd stopped right there. Martha Jones. The beautiful, intelligent, brilliant doctor Jones was as innocent as an April rain. He'd been unable to believe it at first. What idiot didn't take complete advantage of something this good? He'd made an immediate decision then. If they were going to do that it'd be on her terms.

She'd never felt comfortable with the idea of going all the way with Tom, she supposed that should have been some kind of a sign. But like she had with the Doctor, she'd ignored the signs completely. Now here she was, still a blushing virgin. She didn't know whether to be proud of that or embarrassed. But she was ready, and she trusted Jack, liked Jack, in more ways than one. And she felt safe with Jack.

And so this night was on her terms. Completely her idea and choice.

"Did I tell you how pretty you look?"

She sent him a self-conscious smile, then tugged on her top. The stretchy gold fabric clung to her curves, showcasing the shape of her breasts. "I didn't know what to wear. I changed three times."

He wanted to move to the other side of the booth, to touch her, to ease both their fears, but he gestured to his shirt instead. "I went out and bought some new duds. So I fussed a little, too."

Her eyes lit up. "You bought new clothes for me?"

He smiled, shrugged a little. "I didn't want to take you out looking like a bum."

"You look incredible, Jack. But you always do."

"You think?" Giving in to the need to touch her, to get closer, he left his seat.

"What are you doing?" she asked as he scooted in beside her.

"Sitting next to you."

She laughed. "There's not enough room for both of us."

"We'll make do."

The cozy, two-person booth was definitely cramped from this side, but her laughter was worth it.

"I think I'll sample your meal." He reached for his plate. "And give you some of mine."

She angled her body, pressing her back against the wall so she could face him. Their knees bumped under the table. "You won't like my steak."

"Why not?"

"Because it's well done, and yours is rare."

"I'll survive." As long as she kept looking at him the way she was looking at him now. With stars in her eyes, he thought. With bright, girlish wonder. He wondered if this was how she'd looked at the Doctor. And if she had how could he have been so stupid as to have missed it?

He picked up his utensils and cut into her steak. Then he chewed, swallowed and washed the too-tough meat down with a swig of beer.

"It's not bad. For beef jerky. Now you've got to try mine."

She shook her head. "No way. I don't eat things that haven't quit mooing."

He couldn't help but chuckle. "Come on, take a chance. Do something wild."

"Something wild?" She leaned in close, batted her lashes like a delicious little diva. "You do realise I'm a rare-steak virgin, don't you?"

Thoroughly charmed, he pushed his plate toward her, baiting her with the blood red meat. "Are you sure you won't let me deflower you?"

"Oh, my."

Martha fanned her face, feigning a good dose of shock. Then they looked at each other and laughed, enjoying the sexual innuendoes, the silly flirtation, the playful sense of humor they seemed to share.

A moment later, she blindsided him with a serious question. "Do you still love him?"

"What?"

"The Doctor." She dipped into her potato and extended her fork to him. "Do you still feel the same about him?"

He accepted the food she offered, giving himself time to form an answer, to spout a prearranged lie, to convince his conscience that the story he'd come up with held a semblance of truth.

"I liked him the moment I met him," he said. "He and Rose were, well, quite a sight to look at."

"You were in love with them both?"

Guilty, he took another bite of Martha's potato and offered her a piece of shrimp from his plate.

"Yes."

"Are you still?"

Jack reached for his beer, tried to act casual. "Not in the same way, no."

"I still love the Doctor," Martha sipped her water. "But not like I did then."

Grateful she'd turned the conversation around, offering information about herself, he managed a smile.

"He was an idiot."

She smiled, too. "So am I. I knew nothing would come of us and still I let myself run away with my fantasies."

She tasted his rice, then went back to her own meal. "I'm glad we're getting to know each other, Jack. I've wanted to know more about you for ages."

When he looked into her eyes, regret washed over him, seeping into his pores, burning his soul. He hated pretending that he was decent man, someone worthy of her affection, of her trust. He'd lived a long time now and had done a lot that he'd never make up for. He shouldn't have asked her to be with him, but it was too late. He needed her too badly, wanted her too much to let her go.

And she needed him, too. For now, she needed him.

"Should we get dessert later?" she asked.

He blinked, caught the glow in her eyes, the spark of candelight. "Do you want to?"

"If you do." She motioned to their waiter who was wheeling an array of cakes, custards and chocolate éclairs to another table. "They have a pastry cart."

Jack studied Martha's eager expression. For a girl who'd been too nervous to eat earlier, she was certainly holding her own.

"Sure," he said. "We can share a couple of desserts. What's your favourite?"

"Everything." She pressed against him to get a better look at the cart as it passed. "All of it. I can never decide."

Such innocence, he thought, as he watched her. Innocence he would steal.

He didn't deserve her, that much he knew. But tonight it didn't matter. He wouldn't feel guilty. He wouldn't let his past destroy this moment, this memory, the knowledge that she was his.

If only for a little while.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

Once Martha was inside the bathroom, she freshened up and slipped on the yellow-coloured nightgown Jack'd requested, adding a spritz of floral-scented body spray to her neck and shoulders. Unsure of what to do with her clothes, she left them on top of the hamper in a neatly folded pile.

Giving her hair one last, I-can't-believe-this-is-happening fluff, she stared at her reflection in the mirror. When she summoned the courage to emerge, Jack still wore his trousers and his shirt was still undone.

She slid her tongue over her lips. "Now, where were we?" She smiled. "Ah, yes."

She took his hand again and picked up where she'd left off, namely en route to the bedroom.

He eyed her firm backside as she swayed her hips in front of him. Oh, yeah. Exactly what the doctor ordered. Not _the_ Doctor, but the one lurking in the corner of his mind. The truth was, he'd fallen for this spitfire. Some would argue that he didn't even know her. He would tell them that he knew her better than he had any other woman in his life and that included his family too.

But, of course, no one would argue anything with him, simply because no one would know about Martha Jones or the night they were about to share together. No one knew where he was now, either. They had the number to his cell phone. That was enough. And even that he'd turned off as the taxi had pulled up to the apartment building.

Martha had been on his mind since their first encounter with the Doctor. When he'd come back to life, staring up into those brilliant chocolate eyes, and her sweet voice telling the Doctor that he was okay. Oh, yeah. She'd been on his mind a long time. He hoped nothing disastrous occurred at Torchwood while he had his phone off. Cause as of three seconds from now he'd be completely unobtainable. Hell, Gwen and the others could handle it. They'd proved they were capable of handling themselves. So long as no invasions threatened to conquer Britain again…

Well, he didn't want to think about any of that right now. Not when Martha had entered the darkness of the bedroom and was tugging off her nightie, tousling her sexy hair all the more.

Oh, no, he didn't want to think of any of that. All he wanted to do was touch and be touched.

Martha tucked her fingers into the waist of his jeans and tugged him toward her.

And, oh boy, had he ever come to the right place to do that.

An alien invasion now he would survive. But as Martha kissed him again, he briefly wondered if he'd survive her…

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXDONNAXXX**

The Doctor had carted her through three solar systems now and she was finally getting a little rest period. She wandered through the open marketplace of a planet called Jannaxifar and, according to the Doctor, it was year 250,000 and whatever. She smiled remembering their conversation when they'd first arrived.

…_flashback_…

"Oh, you have _got_ to be joking!" the Doctor had said when they'd first arrived.

They'd landed in the middle of a giant scrap pile and he'd been ten kinds of excited. A city could be seen a far distance off from their landing site. As he reached a smaller mound of scrap metal jutting out into their path, with an almost childlike enthusiasm he began lifting smaller fragments, hurling them away. In a flurrying cloud of grey dust, the Doctor had uncovered what looked like a half-buried satellite dish, perhaps two and a half metres in diameter.

"Oh, this is _brilliant_," the Doctor told her.

"What is?"

Attached to the side of the dish's base was a grubby gold plaque. The Doctor swept his hand across it, clearing away decades, or perhaps even centuries of grime and dust.

"This," the Doctor said, "is Pioneer 10."

Looking over his shoulder Donna saw, engraved on the plaque, an image of a naked man and woman standing before a line drawing of the dish.

"A rude picture?" she said. "You're looking at a rude picture?"

"It's _not_ a rude picture." The Doctor sighed. "It's Pioneer 10. Deep-space probe launched by NASA in 1972. So _this_ is where it ended up. Quite sad, really."

"Why has a NASA probe got a rude picture on the side of it?"

"It's _not_ a rude…" the Doctor sighed once more. "It's to show aliens what you lot look like."

"With our clothes off?"

"Well… _yes._ You're not _born_ wearing T-shirt and jeans, are you? Anyway… The idea was that this thing would just keep flying through space, and maybe one day somebody, or _something_, would pick it up. Quite sad. For it to spend countless millennia travelling across space to just end up on a scrap heap..."

"So... you've brought me to a scrap heap?"

"Yes! Well, no. Not really. It's junk. Lots of space junk. Gravitational forces, solar winds, pushing and pulling all this junk until it ends up in one place. That's the thing, see? Two thousand centuries of space travel and people are still dropping litter. They'll never learn…"

"Wait. Did you just say two _thousand_ centuries?"

"Yes."

"What year is this?"

"Er... We left Earth in 2010, or thereabouts, yes?"

Donna nodded. How he managed to get her home in the proper time would always be beyond her. It seemed most of the time he didn't even _know_ the time.

"Well I reckon we're somewhere around the year… oooooooh… 250,000."

Before Donna could say anything, the Doctor crouched down beside the wreckage of the probe once more, flipping open a panel at its side.

"Now where… is… it?" he wondered, drawing his sonic screwdriver from his pocket with one hand and rummaging through the inside of the probe with the other. "Ah-ha! There it is!"

With a high-pitched squeal the sonic screwdriver came to life, shining a needle-thin beam of blue light into the probe's inner workings.

"Atomic clock." The Doctor continued, whipping on his glasses. 'Battery's run down a bit since 1972, but this should sort it out. Right… Yes. The year is 250,339. To be precise, it's 14 March 250,339. And it's six minutes past one in the afternoon."

He stood up once more and turned around. He put his screwdriver and glasses back in his breast pocket and crossed his arms grinning. Donna was still wide eyed with shock.

"Two… two thousand… and fifty... _thousand_?" she spluttered.

"Three hundred and thirty-nine," the Doctor added, beaming.

"But that's… that's…"

"Yes. Quite a distant future, I suppose. For you."

"_Quite_ distant? _Quite_? _Distant_?"

"Well, I don't know why you're so surprised. You've been to the future. I'd have thought the novelty would have worn off by –"

…_flashback end_…

"What'd you find?" the Doctor asked coming up behind her.

"Pets," Donna said looking down at the cute little balls of fur in the cage before her. "Aren't they adorable?"

"Oh, no!" the Doctor said waving his hands in front of him. "Absolutely not! Whenever I'm asked that question I get stuck carting it onto the TARDIS!"

Donna made a face at him and frowned.

"Not for me stupid, for Miranda!"

"Not a good idea. Alien pets on earth are a bad, bad, bad idea."

Donna sighed. She supposed he was right. She hated when he was right…

"What on Earth are we going to take her?"

"Well, if we were on Earth…"

"Oh, shut up and find something!" Donna said checking the other stands.

The Doctor wandered away shaking his head and browsing through the memorabilia. Suddenly he called to her.

"Donna, how's this for a gift?"

Donna made her way round the other shoppers and came up beside him. He was standing in front of a table of jewelry. Necklaces, bracelets, earrings, pins, decorative hair clips...

"Perfect!" Donna exclaimed. "But… what's appropriate to take back?"

They browsed the hundreds of different styles of jewelry with the hundreds of different kinds of stones and the Doctor smiled when he lifted a jewelry set. The tag on the box read '_Green and white mandenite: mined in the Mandalay 18 solar system, on the planet Mandes. Specially imported_. _1,700f._'

He lifted the choker from the box and looked it over. Mandenite looked very similar to emeralds and diamonds and there were a lot of them on this necklace. A large green mandenite was placed at the front of the necklace and dozens of tiny white ones circled it. The black suede collar had more of the tiny white and green mandenites placed around the length as more green mandenites dangled from it, like vines on a branch. Inside the box was a matching pair of earrings and bracelet.

"Seventeen hundred flores for the set?" the Doctor asked the merchant.

"You speak Jannaxin." The merchant said eyeing him mistrustfully.

He gave Donna a wily smile. "Course we do."

_Or rather, the TARDIS does,_ she thought. The ship was telepathic, it got inside your head and could translate any language you liked – as well as those you didn't.

"Now, as I was saying, seventeen hundred, yes?"

"Yes, no lower. Those are specially imported. Not very many around…"

The Doctor shut the man up by dumping a handful of gold coins into the man's hand. He looked up at the Doctor surprised and then smiled broadly.

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. Would you like that gift wrapped? Boxed?"

"That'd be lovely ol' chap, thanks!" The Doctor said handing the jewelry box over.

"Where'd you get all that?" Donna muttered quietly.

The only answer she got was a smug grin and a wink. She rolled her eyes. She went to set down the jewelry box she'd been going to ask the Doctor if he thought it'd suit Mandy but the Doctor snatched it back from the table before she'd even removed her hand.

"This too," the Doctor said not bothering to check the price.

It was a simple necklace and earring set. There was a brightly polished ametrine dangling from the sterling silver necklace. The amethyst and citrine swirled around each other in a beautiful mix of purple and orange.

"Six hundred," the merchant said.

The Doctor handed him a few more coins and turned his attention to Donna. He handed her one of the gold coins and pointed towards an ice cream stand.

"Why don't you run over and grab us a couple?"

"What flavor?"

"Any one will do just fine, thanks!"

The Doctor watched Donna head away as she shook her head back and forth. He grinned, he quite often like to send her on useless errands just to irritate her. But this time wasn't just to prove he could send her away muttering under her breathe, no, this time he had a reason for it. He turned back to the merchant and grabbed up a velvet box. He handed it to the man with another handful of coins.

"Would you like it…"

"No, just stick it in a separate bag."

The man rolled the small box in a silver bag and handed it all over, putting the money he'd made away. The Doctor tucked the little box secretly away in another pocket and headed for Donna who was already ordering their ice-cream.

"…and what the hell is that?" Donna asked totally confused.

The Doctor rushed in to save the poor ice-cream man from dealing with her lack of knowledge of the planet.

"We'll just have two starberry thanks!" he said with a disarmingly bright smile.

"What's a starberry?" Donna asked taking her cone.

"It's a fruit that grows here, very tart."

"You and your alien foods…" Donna said licking her cone.

The shocked look on her face made the Doctor laugh. She looked up at him frowning as the bitterness subsided leaving nothing but sweetness.

"You could have warned me _how_ tart!"

"Where'd be the fun in that? Come on, Donna! Where's your sense of adventure?"

"Back on the TARDIS," Donna grumbled.

"Well then, let's go and get it," he said heading back towards the scrap yard where'd they'd first landed.

They walked in companionable silence until Donna had to voice her thoughts.

"Did you notice anything strange about Mandy's apartment?"

"No, why?" The Doctor was surprised to find a puzzled look on her face. "I'm guessing you did."

Donna shook her head.

"Well, not exactly it's just…"

The Doctor waited for her to finish and when she didn't he nudged her.

"Nickel for your thoughts?"

"It's 'a penny'…"

"Nope. Inflation's made the price go up."

Donna laughed at him and gave him a light shove.

"It's just there were no pictures," she said finally voicing her thoughts.

The Doctor thought about it, he was sure he'd seen a few placed randomly about her apartment.

"Actually there were…"

"_Family_ pictures," Donna clarified. "There wasn't one. I mean, I have pictures of everyone. Dad, mum, gramps. Even all my cousins. Martha has _loads_ of pictures. Even Jack has pictures of past relatives hidden away. Mandy didn't have one."

The Doctor ran through his memory sorting through every face in every photo he'd seen in Mandy's apartment. He blinked when he realised she was right. How did he miss that? Sometimes he missed the most obvious of things, it was part of the reason he liked Donna so much, she noticed the smallest of details that made up the grander picture.

The Doctor unlocked the TARDIS door and allowed Donna to enter first. The Doctor didn't have time to respond to Donna's observation when the cell phone sitting on the console started to ring. He tossed his jacket onto one of the coralline pillars on his way by and flipped the phone open with a cheery hello.

The tone of Martha's voice on the other end sobered him immediately.

"What's wrong?" the Doctor asked instinctively.

Donna went to her room to change clothes and when she came back fifteen minutes later the console room was apparently empty. For a few moments, as Donna stepped towards the main console, she thought she was alone.

The walls that pulsed with light, the huge support struts that seemed hewn from living coral, the mundane latticework beneath her feet – everything around her hummed with secrets and potential, with the hint of amazing things as yet unseen, and with terrifying things that were all too clear. It was like stepping into some old church where every footstep feels like an intrusion – or finding yourself alone in a mad scientist's lab and wondering which bubbling experiment or complex bit of machinery you'll fiddle with first.

She liked these moments without the Doctor – these momentary pauses for breath, when she had time to take it all in, to dwell on the things she had seen, the adventures she had already had. Paths already taken. Normal life never seemed so dull and one-dimensional as in these brief moments of reflection.

Then again, she didn't like having too much time to think – sometimes it was scary. These events that played out before her threatened, on occasion, to wash her away entirely. Sometimes she just wanted to watch a beautiful sunset on an alien world, or meet someone famous from history, without battalions of blood-sucking monsters and megalomaniacal villains roving into view.

It was probably just as well, then, that at that moment she noticed the familiar and reassuring form of the Doctor, leaning against one of the walls, his face partly hidden by shadows, staring intently at the small scanner screen some feet away. He was chewing absentmindedly on one of the arms of his glasses, seemingly lost in thought himself.

Donna circled around towards him and he looked up.

'It's just drifting through space,' he said, indicating the screen with his spectacles. 'It's easy to think that the cosmos is full of planets and stars and stuff, when actually. . . So much of it is empty. Bit of stray gas maybe, echoes of dark matter and plasma, but otherwise. . . Nothing.'

Donna came round and looked at the screen. It showed, as the Doctor said, a remarkably dark area of deep space. The velvety blackness was smudged by only a handful of distant stars.

"What was up with Martha?" Donna asked turning to look at him.

The Doctor stepped forward, out of the shadows, and pressed a button on the console and the image on the screen changed.

"I think we need to go back to Earth," the Doctor said cryptically.

Donna looked at the screen and realised the information wasn't on some planet or place, it was about Mandy. And while she set to reading the disturbing contents of the file Jack had forwarded to them, the Doctor set the coordinates for Earth.


	18. Chapter 18 being revised

**Author's Note: THIS CHAPTER WILL BE UPDATED SOON… you can of course continue reading if you wish, but eventually you'll want to come back and REREAD it because there may be some drastic changes in the chapter. Fair warning. As much as it may suck you may want to hold off and read more later. Don't worry, the update is scheduled for release by 6/25/13.**

**XXXXXXCHAPTEREIGHTEENXXXXXX**

**XXXMARTHAXXX**

Hot and salty and one-hundred-percent male. That's what Jack's skin tasted like against Martha's tongue. As the early morning sunlight slanted through the vertical blinds cutting slashes of light across the black lacquer bed, she slid a little closer to the man sleeping next to her, allowing for a fuller taste of the skin covering his broad shoulder.

Jack made a sound deep in his throat, making her smile. She felt so thoroughly… sexed. Every inch of her sang and ached and longed for even more of the man who had taken her again and again and again through the night—with only one brief shower break. The scent of his sex, their sex, mingled together, tightening the ball of desire accumulating in her belly yet again and pebbling her nipples where they brushed against the crisp hair of his arm.

She propped herself up on one elbow and gazed down at the man who had occupied so much of her thoughts over the past year… and who now blissfully occupied her bed. Everything about Jack Harkness was….manly to the nth degree. Even in sleep, his features were strong and broad and handsome.

An almost grey lock of hair, lighter than the dark brown of the rest of his hair, teased a thick dark brow. She reached up and brushed it back only to watch as it shifted back over his brow again. She sighed softly, wondering what he'd looked like as a boy. Had that shock of hair always been stubborn, no matter how often his mother tried to spit-comb it back?

Her gaze drifted down to his full, well-defined lips. Oh, what that decadent mouth was capable of. Just when she was determined to keep some secrets to herself, he'd fasten those lips around the core of her and give a little tug that made her open like a brand new book eager to be read. His jaw was set even in sleep, and his Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed.

Then there was that body…

She loved the solid feel of a man who looked after himself. The broad chest. The hard muscles. At around six-foot, Jack's build was as solid and mouthwateringly hard as they came. She lightly rasped the side of her hand down over a finely developed pec, over a dark nipple, then down his abdomen and his waist to where the black top sheet was draped across his narrow hips. Then she slid her fingers under the soft material, seeking and instantly finding the long, thick ridge of his soft arousal underneath. She smiled as that softness transformed into a throbbing, steel-hard erection.

A low sound rumbled in Jack's chest. "You didn't tell me you were such a pro at greetings."

Martha blinked down at him and smiled naughtily. "How do you mean?"

"Well, there was a couple weeks ago when I arrived. I don't think a man in the world could have asked for a, um, warmer welcome." His eyes reflected amusement and heat as his right hand slipped down to cover her fingers, squeezing them against his flesh. "And if this isn't the best 'good morning' I've ever gotten, then it's a close second."

"I'll settle for best," she murmured, giving a squeeze of her own making.

She watched his throat work around a thick swallow. "Hmm."

She released him and folded back the sheet so she could get up.

"Whoa. Just where do you think you're going?"

She smiled over her bare shoulder. "To get ready for work."

He looked at her for a long moment, and then his eyes narrowed. "We're going to have to work on your follow-up."

She laughed quietly and started to lift herself from the bed. He wrapped a hand around her wrist and hauled her back to him. She gasped. He grinned and waggled his brows at her.

"Surely you have five minutes."

"Not even two."

"Good, because one's all I need."

"Spoken like a true man." She laughed, wriggling against him, the crisp hair of his chest teasing her sensitive nipples. "Yes, well, I happen to need more."

"Think so, huh?"

"Know so."

His hands disappeared for a brief moment as he sheathed himself with one of the condoms he'd tossed to the bedside table the night before.

"Jack…"

"Shh."

He rolled to his side then positioned her so that her bottom fit against him, snaking a hand around her hip and down to the V of her thighs. She gasped as he lightly pinched the flesh there then parted her to his attentions. In one smooth stroke he filled her from behind, pressing on her pulsing flesh from the front. Amazing even herself, Martha reached climax right then and there.

She fought to catch her breath even as he slowly rocked into her again.

"Told you," he whispered into her ear.

"Smart-ass."

He curved his fingers over her bottom. "Sweet ass."

She began to wriggle away.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"To shower."

"I still have fifty-five seconds."

Martha swallowed hard, the sensation of his thick flesh filling hers, the evidence of her own desire lubricating his strokes, heightening the chaos beginning to roll in her belly all over again.

"Oh, God," she murmured between clenched teeth.

"Oh, Jack," he teased in her ear.

Martha halted his fingers from where they tunneled in her curls then gave his hips a shove with her bottom until he was lying prone against the mattress. She followed, staying in the same position so that she straddled his hips with her back to him. Supporting herself with her hands between his legs, she moved up, then down, the length of his shaft, wishing she could see his expression, but getting immense satisfaction from the raspy sound of his breathing.

Up and down she moved, slowly, then more quickly, with each stroke stroking the flames licking through her body. Jack grasped her hips, not halting her movements, rather enhancing them, his thumbs moving toward her bottom then parting her further.

His low groan sounded like he'd dredged it up from his chest. The sound wound around her, quickening her breath and her movement until skin slapped against skin, moans mingled with soft cries. Martha's muscles suddenly contracted so violently she froze. Jack kept up the pace with his hands, pulling her down, then up, then down again, drawing out her crisis until he stiffened, thrusting deep inside her, joining her in the red cloud of sensation that had descended over her.

They stayed like that for long moments, neither of them in a hurry to emerge from the tranquil aftermath. Then Jack slowly repositioned her until she lay flat against him, her back to his front, his arousal still filling her.

"I think we should call in sick," he murmured, absently stroking her breasts.

Martha nodded. "I think we should, too."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXMANDYXXX**

Shaye was keeping me company at the bar while I watched Zollie and his band set up their instruments. I sipped my ginger ale slowly, willing the butterflies in my stomach to settle down. Now that the moment was here I couldn't believe that I'd agreed to sing in front of all these people. We'd practiced in the comfort of my apartment for the past four days and Zollie was confident tonight was going to go brilliantly.

I looked around the room staring at the huge turnout of people. When I'd pictured the people in my head they'd looked so much... less. I didn't know very many people here; I supposed that was good, that meant I didn't have any sort of expectancy to uphold.

The microphone screeched as Zollie adjusted it and I took a deep breath, knowing what came next. Shaye nudged me to go up, patting me on the back and telling me I'd be amazing. I headed up nervously adjusting my paisley dress. Zollie hip bumped me encouragingly to the mic and I approached it apprehensively. I stared at the dozens of faces and found Shaye coming towards the front of the crowd.

The first chords ripped through the air and I closed my eyes waiting for the moment I'd begin to sing.

"You were my conscience, so solid now you're like water. And we started drowning, not like we'd sink any farther. But I let my heart go; it's somewhere down at the bottom. But I'll get a new one and come back for the hope that you've stolen."

Shaye was jumping up and down with the crowd, rocking with the music whether they liked it or not.

"I'll stop the whole world; I'll stop the whole world from turning into a monster. In this life, don't you ever wonder how we survive? Well now that you're gone the world is ours."

I felt my body relax and glanced back to find Zollie grinning ear to ear as he pounded away at the drums I smiled back and faced the crowd again, adrenaline pumping through my veins.

"I'm only human. I've got a skeleton in me. But I'm not the villain, despite what you're always preaching. Call me a traitor; I'm just collecting your victims. They're getting stronger, I hear them calling. They're calling…"

I took in the crowd's enthusiasm, singing with everything I had. I was startled, and nearly forgot the chorus, when two familiar faces looked up at me from the crowd, standing on either side of Shaye. I smiled at them, excited to go down and say hello. But by the time I'd finished singing they were already heading for the back exit.

Once the music had stopped and everyone was clapping and roaring with their pleasure I tried to make my way through the crowd. I could no longer see the back of the woman's red head and panicked. Why were they just leaving? I finally managed to make my way to the exit, constantly being stopped to be told 'good job' and 'you were amazing'.

I pressed open the exit doors and caught a quick glimpse of red hair disappearing around the corner. I ran as fast as I could, my brown boots echoing down the alley.

"Amy!" I yelled. "Wait!"

Around the corner the Next Doctor disappeared inside of the TARDIS. I caught Amy just as she was going to follow him in.

"Amy!" I panted again confused. "Wait!"

She turned and looked at me equally as confused.

"Umm," she said.

"Come along, Pond!" I heard the Next Doctor's impatient voice call.

"Sorry, but we kinda gotta go."

"But you didn't even say…"

Amy looked like something dawned on her.

"Oh, right. Nice work! Cute friends," she said punching me in the shoulder awkwardly.

"What?" I said stupidly. "Amy what's wrong with you?"

Amy stared at me and then into the TARDIS. I don't know what she saw but she shut the TARDIS door.

"I'm sorry but do I know you?" she asked confused. "Because you seem to know me…"

I blinked and felt the excitement and adrenaline crash around me. She didn't know me? How could she not know me?

"Amy, I'm Miranda. We travelled together… wait, where's Rory?" I asked, then glanced at her left hand. "Oh my God! Where's your ring?"

Amy looked suddenly suspicious and annoyed.

"Who's Rory? Who are you?"

The Next Doctor threw the door back open and yanked her in with a startled squeal. He looked out at me sadly.

"Sorry, time travel, we're on our way to the Musée d'Orsay," he said. "Sorry, can't stay, introductions to be continued and all that…" he slammed the door in my face then reopened it again and leaned out. "And by the way," he continued with a soft smile, "you look lovely tonight."

He slammed the door and seconds later the wind kicked up as the TARDIS dematerialised in front of me with its normal wheezing sound. I stood there staring at the same spot as the TARDIS began materializing again. But when the door opened this time Donna stepped out instead.

"Hey! Nice landing spaceman," she called into the TARDIS. "You landed five feet in front of her."

"Told you I was good," the Doctor said following her out.

I stared at them, my mind trapped in a confusing battle of thoughts. Amy hadn't known me, hadn't known Rory. The Next Doctor just blew me off. Then it hit me, they hadn't saved me in their time yet.

"Hey, you alright?" Donna asked nudging me.

"Yeah. Fine. Great. Wonderful!" I said my emotions exploding. "Freaking brilliant!"

I turned on my heels and headed back to the exit of Skeletones. I stopped outside the door hearing the pounding rock music inside of another band. I wasn't ready to be caught in the huge crowd now. What I wanted was space, a lot of it. I leaned against the wall sighing.

"I can't do it," I said. "Nothing's the same."

They leaned against the wall on either side of me.

"No, I reckon it isn't," Donna said.

"I thought it'd be okay. I'd told myself that when you left life would go back to normal. But I can't go back. Not knowing what I know, seeing what I've seen, living through what I have."

Donna placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. "I know. I understand, I really do."

I looked at her skeptically. She sighed and pointed at the Doctor.

"That man," she said, "changed my life. I was nothin' before I met him…"

"Now stop it. You were not," the Doctor protested.

Donna gave him a shut up look and he sighed leaning his back against the building and staring up into the cloudless night.

"My life was going nowhere," Donna continued. "Or it felt that way to me. I was going from temp job to temp job, still living with my parents. And then I got a temp job as a secretary at H.C. Clements, a security firm. And on that first day I met this wonderful, brilliant man."

"Bit of a tosser, really," the Doctor couldn't help but throw out there.

Donna smiled at this, her eyebrows lifted in surprise.

"He made me feel amazing, special. And we were together months, my first real relationship. I fell in love with him, head over heels. But he'd been dosing me with…" Donna looked to the Doctor for help here.

"Huon particles. And on her wedding day she ended up on the TARDIS, in her white dress and veil and mad as hell. Real spitfire she was that day," the Doctor said remembering. "Slapped me twice that day y'know!"

"You had it comin'," Donna told him. "Well, those months of my life just started coming unraveled. Missed my wedding, found my family and supposed-to-be husband having the reception without me…"

"Robot Santa's crashed the party," the Doctor added.

"Well, you know what he did? He took me to the beginning of the Earth. My first real look at time travel. And it was… amazing. Beautiful and terrifying. And after the night was over he asked me to come with him…"

"But you didn't," I said remembering.

"No, I didn't. And I spent the next year kicking myself for it. After that one night my eyes had been opened. Nothing looked the same anymore. And you know? I tried, I really tried to move on, forget about it. But everything just felt so dull, colourless. I felt _trapped_ on this tiny little planet, knowing that out there, the Doctor was flying around. The entire universe at his fingertips. And that it could have been at mine too."

"So I'm virtually screwed then," I said.

"No, look at Martha," the Doctor said drawing my attention. "Look at Jack. They both travelled with me and they're living here, on Earth, leading normal lives… Well, almost normal. The point is it'll take some work, but you could do it."

I nodded appreciating the fact that they were trying to help.

"Problem is," I said quietly. "I don't think I want to."

Donna hugged me around the shoulders like a mother would and gave me a squeeze.

"You will," she said. "It'll just take time."

I thought of Amy's reaction to me tonight and shook my head frustrated.

"Fat lot of good time is," I said angrily. "All time has done for me is screw everything up!"

Donna and the Doctor exchanged a look that I missed. The Doctor dug in his pockets and pulled out three bags.

"Here," he said handing them to me. "Let's go to the TARDIS and have a cuppa."

"Yeah," Donna said steering me back. "We've got loads to talk about."

"What are these?" I asked indicating the bags in my hand.

"Gifts," the Doctor said simply unlocking the TARDIS doors.

"What for?"

"For you," Donna said as if I was dumb. "We thought you'd like them."

"Oh," I said dumbstruck. "Thanks."

We went to the kitchen and Donna started the tea as the Doctor and I sat at the table. They urged me to open them and I did so one after the other. The first gift was a bag of chocolates.

"They're from Pampanpara," Donna told me pouring my tea. "They're delicious. Dozens of fillings."

The second bag had a small ornament inside. It was small and perfectly round. It appeared to be see-through and had a sort of mist inside.

"It's a gazing ball," the Doctor explained taking it out of my hand and rolling it round his fingers. "It'll show you whatever you want if you want it bad enough. Go ahead, give it a go."

"How?" I asked looking into it.

"Just look into it and think of something, or someone, and just focus."

So I did. My meeting with Amy tonight was still fresh at the front of my mind and I pictured her in my head, I focused. It didn't take long for the mist in the ball to clear and the familiar red hair to materialise.

"_Why won't you tell me?" Amy was saying._

"_Because there's nothing to tell," the Next Doctor's voice said._

I watched Amy wander around the TARDIS console to stand beside the Next Doctor, she crossed her arms giving him a dirty look.

"_Fine. Then at least tell me this: who is she?"_

"_Just, someone I knew. I was a different man back thing."_

The Doctor and Donna peered into the ball with me. Amy uncrossed her arms looking intrigued and surprised.

"_Was she like, your girlfriend or something?" Amy asked._

The Next Doctor was fiddling with controls and looked up at her nervously and then quickly went to flip some more levers.

"…_or something. It was a long time ago. All done now."_

"_So she __**was**__ your girlfriend!" Amy exclaimed. "Oh my God! __**That's**__ why we went there tonight! You were watching your ex perform!"_

He turned to stare directly at me and for a second I thought he actually could see me. His brow furrowed as he stared. But he quickly spun on the spot and began working at the controls again.

"_Amy! Not now!" he exclaimed exasperated. "Would you go to bed!"_

"_Yes, dad!" Amy teased him._

They watched Amy head up the stairs, the Next Doctor watching her go, a strange look on his face. She stopped and turned to look at him giving him a smile.

"_Good night, Doctor."_

_"Good night, Amelia."_

_Amy frowned. "You only call me Amelia when you're worrying about me."_

_He gave her a soft smile. _

"_I always worry about you." _

_"Mutual."_

The Doctor yanked the ball out of my hand and it quickly turned into mist again.

"Okay, maybe not the best gift after all," he said frowning at it.

"What was that about?" Donna wondered.

"I'm pretty sure… me," I said sadly.

"What do you mean?" Donna asked me.

"They were here. I saw them when I was on stage. But they took off and when I finally caught up with them…" I paused gathering my thoughts and taking a deep breath. "Time travel is so… so… confusing!"

I sighed and the Doctor picked up the other bag. He handed it to me, in a sad attempt to distract me.

"One more," he said draining his cup of tea.

I opened it and found a small rectangular box. I gently tugged away the silver ribbon and opened it. Inside was a silver necklace and earring set with an orange and purple stone. I lifted it out smiling.

"It's beautiful!" I said touching the stone gently.

"Donna found it. The stone is called ametrine," he said slipping it out of my hands and unlatching it. "Here."

He held it out to me and I lifted my hair, allowing him to fasten it around my neck. I looked down at it happily.

"Thank you, Donna!" I said when the Doctor had removed his hands. "Thank you both!"

"No problem," they both said.

They spent the next two hours distracting me with their trips to the planets that they'd found these gifts. We sat there eating chocolate, drinking tea, and laughing as we talked. Suddenly I couldn't stop myself from yawning and Donna laughed.

"Are we boring you already?"

"Nuh-uh! I've just been sleeping like crap since I got back," I admitted.

"Why's that?" Donna asked conversationally.

"I've been having…" I paused and looked away from them. "Nightmares."

They were silent and this time I noticed the knowing look that passed between them.

"You knew that didn't you?" I said startled.

"No," Donna said hurriedly. "We just figured what with everything that's happened…."

I stared at her and she fidgeted uneasily before busying herself with taking care of the tea and chocolate wrappers. She was nervous, hiding something, or attempting to and failing awfully. The Doctor on the other hand casually paid no attention, as if he had no idea she was acting out-of-sorts.

"Why'd you come back?" I asked the Doctor.

"To see you. We said we'd come back and visit."

"Not this soon you didn't. Why did you really come back?" I asked again directing it this time at Donna.

Donna shifted guiltily.

"You know," she said wiping her hands on a towel. "I'm actually tired too. We left Jannaxifar and came straight here. I think I'll just slip out…"

She made her way out of the kitchen as I stared at her back astonished.

"She's the worst liar, y'know," I said absently.

"Oh, yeah. I know," the Doctor sighed. "Okay, I'll be upfront with you. We _were_ worried about how you were. Especially with the return of all those memories to deal with. And we got a call from Martha…"

"What for?" I asked cautiously. He seemed honest enough so far.

"She had an offer for you," he said.

"And what was this offer?"

"She wanted to know if you'd be interested in moving to Cardiff…"

"Wales?" I asked startled. I'd never left the country before. Hell, I'd never left the state.

"Wales," the Doctor verified. "Martha is going back to work at Torchwood a while and wondered if you would like to give her a hand. Be her personal assistant in a way."

"What's Torchwood?" I asked. I could remember Jack mentioning it a few times but I couldn't remember what it was.

"They're a team. Jack's team. They work outside the government to make sure whatever comes through the rift in Cardiff doesn't end up in the hands of the wrong people."

"Wait, what comes through the rift?"

"Remember that first night we met?"

I stared at him and remembered being tucked under his arm and the ground racing by below me.

"Yes," I said slowly.

"That lizard that came after you, it's what's called a Byrrn. And it came through a rift."

"Wait, so… _aliens_ come through the rift?"

"Yup."

"So they capture what comes through the rifts and, what? Lock them up? Send them back?"

"Correct again."

"So their alien catchers?"

"You make them sound like something as simple as a dog catcher but yes."

"So they catch aliens…"

"Why do you sound so skeptical being who you are and knowing what you do?"

I pointed at myself. "Lived as a human how long?" I reminded him.

He nodded with a shrug. "Point taken. They don't just catch aliens. They scavenge what they leave behind. Find ways to arm the human race for the future against any possible, and probable, invasions. Not my favourite people but Jack's turned the organization around. I have to give them the benefit of the doubt."

"So what does Martha need me for at Torchwood? Assistant alien catcher?" I asked sarcastically. "No offence to her but that idea would be a bit daft. All I can do is get kidnapped by aliens. Seems to be a recurring thing. Not a good sign. She'd need a replacement in three days tops."

The Doctor laughed. "Most likely two," he joked.

"Oh, gee thanks," I said, frowning at him but then started laughing.

"Jack also wanted you to come if you were interested. He assumes you'd like it there as well. It'd give you something to do. But I won't milk it like they do. It's a hell of a job. Dangerous. I can't guarantee you won't get hurt."

"Bet it'd be a hell of a lot better than waitressing. Much more exciting."

"I think anything'd be more exciting than waitressing," the Doctor joked with me. "Listen, don't decide now. Why don't you sleep on it?"

"Alright."

"I was thinking of doing some maintenance work on the TARDIS. You're welcome to join me or head to your room here."

"I have a room here?" I asked surprised.

"The TARDIS didn't redecorate that room for nothing," he said. "Despite my protestations."

"I think I'll keep you company, at least a little while if that's alright."

"I wouldn't have even offered otherwise. Come on," he said leading the way back to the control room.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**


	19. Chapter 19 being revised

**Author's Note: THIS CHAPTER WILL BE UPDATED SOON… you can of course continue reading if you wish, but eventually you'll want to come back and REREAD it because there may be some drastic changes in the chapter. Fair warning. As much as it may suck you may want to hold off and read more later. Don't worry, the update is scheduled for release by 7/6/13.**

**XXXXXXCHAPTERNINETEENXXXXXX**

**XXXSHAYEXXX**

"Hey," Shaye said catching up with Zollie outside in the alley at the end of the night. "Have you seen Mandy?"

Zollie turned taking a slow drag from his cigarette before tossing it on the cement and crushing it out.

"Not since she went dashing off the stage, why?"

"That was hours ago and I can't find her and she didn't bring her phone with her."

"Well, maybe she went home…"

"Yeah, but then she'd have her phone."

"Okay, I'm not following…"

Shaye smacked him on the forehead. "Sober up, dude. Mandy isn't here and she left her phone at home. I already tried calling. If she'd went home she'd answer it. So if she isn't here and she's not home, where is she?"

"Relax. She's probably out on a walk. Got sick on stage or something. They're about to announce the results I gotta get in there."

Shaye watched him walk away to join his band in the large crowd, she scanned every face, her irritation growing. This was the third time Mandy had just disappeared on her. Two of those times she'd run off with that man. And if she'd done it again… well, she didn't know what she was going to do. But Mandy had better believe she'd had enough of her shit. She'd been jumping down her throat ever since she got home, unwilling to talk about what was bothering her. She knew she was hiding something and if she wanted to be left alone, fine. She'd give her space. And if Mandy didn't have a damn good excuse this time, she'd be giving her more than space. She'd give her outer space. Starting with a good punt to the moon.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXTHEDOCTORXXX**

Way out in the depths of space, the police box shell of the TARDIS appeared in a blaze of blue light, tumbling end over end in the dark. It spun for a moment, as if getting its bearings, and then, with a swirling kaleidoscope of shimmering colour flaring around it, vanished again into the time vortex.

Inside the Doctor sat cross-legged on the floor, poking and prodding at the tangle of tubes and pipes that wound their way through the coral-like growths and protuberances of the central control console. Above him the huge glass and crystal column of the time rotor rose and fell in steady progression, keeping time like the tick of a huge clock, or the beat of a heart.

The lights in the console room were dim and low, the huge curving walls in shadow, the indented roundels glowing softly with emerald light. Mandy was curled up on the battered control room chair, the Doctor's long brown coat draped over her like a blanket. She was fast asleep, her breathing slow and measured, keeping pace with the rotor.

The Doctor peered round the console at her, smiling. She'd fallen asleep on him halfway through a sentence, and _he'd_ thought something had been _wrong_. Now she was quiet and still; she was usually such a bundle of tireless energy, always keen to head off to do something.

The steady background hum from the console suddenly changed in pitch for a moment and there was a faint moan from Mandy as she stirred on the chair. The Doctor frowned and clambered to his feet, peering at a flashing light on the console.

"Well, that's not right… Not right at all."

He pulled a pair of thick-rimmed glasses from his jacket pocket and leaned forward, his nose almost brushing the controls. He tapped at a read-out.

"What are you flashing for? You're not meant to flash. If I'd wanted you to flash I'd have put you somewhere more obvious, more flashy."

There was another bleep from the other side of the console. The Doctor hurried around to where a new set of lights had blinked into life, twisting controls as he went. A cluster of symbols flickered on to one of the many screens that littered the surface and there was a low electronic burbling from somewhere deep in the machinery below him.

Mandy twisted in her sleep again, her brow furrowing. The Doctor's gaze went from the console to Mandy and back again, and he pulled off his glasses, chewing on one of the arms thoughtfully.

"Now what are you two talking about? All girls together, is it?"

Pushing his glasses back into his pocket, the Doctor leaned forward and started tapping at the controls.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXMANDYXXX  
><strong>  
>I knew I was dreaming. I knew because I could see myself, as if I was another person, from just over my right shoulder. It was odd, looking at the back of your own head, seeing everything from someone else's perspective.<p>

In the dream I was only sixteen. I was laying in bed, looking troubled, depressing thoughts weighing heavily on me. I wanted to go to sleep and forget. Mornings always made things look better. Just as I reached to turn off the lamp on my side table, I heard what sounded like scratching on one of my bedroom windows.

I looked around, taking in the vague, unreal surroundings of my dream. As dreams went, it wasn't particularly exotic. At first, I thought it might just be the branch of an untrimmed bush caught in a twisted wind, but when I looked, I saw the clear outline of someone standing in the shadow just outside. He was in darkness, so I couldn't make out anything else about him. Was he a ghost or one of those young men I had once seen in a nightmare? When he tapped on the glass, he brought himself closer, and I gasped.

It was Mark. A boy from my high school that had asked me out one day. I had told him flat out no, as was expected of my daddy's girls.

How had he found out where we lived? I had told no one at school, and Marla certainly wouldn't have told anyone. It was one of the most forbidden things to do. He tapped again, much louder this time. I got out of bed quickly, fearful that he would draw someone else's attention. He stepped back as I opened the window softly. He was wearing a black leather jacket and black pants to camouflage himself in the darkness. I looked past him and didn't see any car.

"How did you get here?"

"I walked, miles."

"Why? What are you doing here?"

"I was reading _Romeo and Juliet_, and I thought I'd come to plead at your balcony, but you're on the first floor," he said. "How can I be dramatic if you sleep on the first floor?" He looked up as if we had a balcony and reached toward it. "Miranda, Miranda, where art thou?"

"Shut up, you idiot. How did you find out where I live?"

"A determined lover would find ways," he replied. "Come out with me for a little while."

"Are you crazy? You're going to wake my family and get me into big trouble. Go away, Mark."

"I can't," he said. "Your beauty has paralyzed me. I can't even move, especially now that I see you in your nightgown, your face glowing with the starlight."

"How did you know which room was my bedroom?"

"The heart knows exactly where to go, Miranda. Miranda. Your name is magical, melodic. I'm drunk on the sound of it. Come out with me. Just for a little while. Give me a chance to win your heart."

In the dream I found myself thinking he was incredibly melodramatic, and oddly, irritable. Why would I feel irritable that he was hitting on me? The thoughts felt oddly foreign, as if I was thinking them, but they weren't mine.

"No," I said at the window. "You'll get me into very big trouble. Please leave before it's too late."

"It's already too late," he said, moving closer. "I'm no longer in control of myself. I can't help myself. I can't leave unless you come out and spend a few minutes with me. Come." He beckoned. "Come out, Miranda. Enjoy the night air, look up at the stars, and dream a little dream with me. Come out. I promise I'll leave, but you won't want me to leave. Parting, remember, is such sweet sorrow."

His words were suddenly mesmerizing. He reached in and gently took my hand.

"Come," he urged. "Please."

I felt myself moving toward him. His eyes were suddenly luminous, a soft blue. He brought his left hand to my shoulder.

"I'll lift you out. In my arms, you will be as air," he said, and his hands went to my waist. I could feel his fingers tightening. He brought his face closer, his lips inviting mine, and then, just slightly at first, I saw his teeth, sharp, pointed, growing.

What happened next happened so quickly that I questioned whether it had happened at all. A darker, thicker shadow fell over Mark and then metamorphosed into Daddy. He was bigger and wider than I had ever seen him, even when I saw him that time when I was younger. He enveloped Mark as if his body had turned into a great cape and lifted him away from my window. Mark's grip around my waist loosened quickly, so quickly I thought his fingers had turned into water.

I didn't hear a groan so much as a muffled scream. I stood there captivated by the struggle that went on in front of me. It didn't last long, I'm sure, but it seemed to go on and on. Daddy's grip on Mark was too iron-clad. He gave up trying to break out of it and instead pushed against Daddy's face in a desperate attempt to keep Daddy's teeth from reaching him.

It was as if Daddy were struggling with a clump of butter, however. He moved swiftly, undeterred, until he was on Mark's neck. Then I heard the scream, the piercing sound that vibrated everything around them, made trees tremble, woke sleeping birds, and seemed to shatter the stars…

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXTHEDOCTORXXX**

And she woke with a start, almost tumbling from the chair, a frightened cry escaping her lips.

He looked up from the screen, concern in his eyes.

"Are you alright?"

Mandy ran a hand through her hair, her eyes flicking around the shadows that pooled in the corners of the console room.

"Yeah, a dream, that's all. A nightmare." She shivered, pulling his coat around her shoulders.

"A nightmare…" he repeated.

She rubbed sleep from her eyes and shuffled over to where the he was prodding at the console. "Don't you _ever_ sleep?"

"Nah. Tried it once, didn't like it. I prefer it when it's quiet."

Mandy gave a snort. "Yeah, right. Like it's ever quiet with you." She nodded at the console. "What are you doing?"

He shifted his gaze guiltily and she looked at him confused. Why would he look guilty?

"Doctor?" she asked imploringly.

"I was analyzing your brain waves. I locked into your subconscious to analyze your dreams. It was affecting the TARDIS, I wanted to be sure nothing was wrong."

"And?" she asked. "What happens when you lock onto my subconscious?"

She had a feeling she knew already but hoped he hadn't. He wouldn't do what she thought he said he had.

"It allows me to see what you're seeing while you're asleep," he confirmed her fears.

"That's why I was watching my dream as if I was a third person. That third person wasn't me. It was you," she said feeling mentally raped.

He had no right to invade her mind like that, her privacy, her memories….

She dropped his coat onto the chair and headed for the door.

"Wait," he said grabbing her wrist. "You can't leave, we're in flight. I didn't mean to invade your privacy…"

She looked at him.

"Okay, yes I did, but I didn't mean it _as_ an invasion of your privacy. The TARDIS started going crazy the minute you started having that memory. I wanted to see what was happening to cause my TARDIS to act up. Everything started flashing like a giant warning beacon. I thought something might be wrong with you."

"That still doesn't give you the right…" she said frustrated as tears fell down her cheeks.

"I know, I'm sorry." He said sincerely. "I won't do it again."

He hated making women cry… and he seemed to do that a lot.

"How much did you… how much did you…"

"I saw enough." He said looking at her. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She stared at him a minute and then sighed. She shook her head, grabbed his coat, and wrapped it around her shoulders again. He went back to maintenance work while she sat watching him silently.

"Is Donna still sleeping?"

"Yes. You should be too. Why don't you head…"

"I'm fine."

They sat there in silence, neither of them knowing what to say to the other. Her memory kept coming back to her and pretty soon she found herself telling him about it, his eyes never leaving her face, even as he worked.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXMANDYXXX**

"He wasn't bad," I said not sure if I was trying to convince the Doctor or myself. "Daddy never raised his voice or raised a hand to us. He made sure we were never unhappy. We never wanted for anything."

The Doctor crossed his arms in front of him, listening intently, offering no judgment or opinion. I didn't meet his gaze, afraid that if I did I'd lose my courage to continue. I said whatever came to mind, the words spilling over my lips like a waterfall. I described the man that had adopted me after I'd been transferred through so many families. I could see him so clearly in my mind as I described him; he sat with perfect posture as always.

"Daddy never slouched, never looked tired or lazy. Often," I told the Doctor, "when I saw him sitting alone and thinking, he reminded me of a Greek statue."

The details of his appearance became clearer as I described him, as if I was wiping dust from a picture, revealing the image beneath. Daddy had alabaster skin, with the most intelligent yet warm black eyes that picked up the ebony tone of his hair. His eyes were truly like jewels, rich opals. He had a strong, straight mouth and a Romanesque nose. His cheekbones were high and his jawbone just prominent enough to give him a look of power.

"Ava, my…sister, always stood at his side with her hand on his shoulder, as if she thought they were posing for a family portrait and she should have that important position," I remembered.

The Doctor got up from his position on the floor to sit next to me on the chair. He stretched his long legs out to prop his ankles up on the console in front of us, thoughtlessly draping an arm across the backrest behind me.

"Then there was Marla, she was adopted after me, she was younger. She was always sitting at his feet, her face against his leg, her right arm around his legs as if she were claiming he was hers." I looked up at the Doctor for the first time and saw nothing but honest interest in his eyes. "Every time we touched him, every time he touched us, every embrace, especially every kiss, was coveted and collected. None of us would come right out and say it, but each of us hoped and believed he loved us more than any of his other daughters."

"I bet there was some sibling rivalry there," the Doctor said, speaking for the first time.

I laughed. He had no idea.

"It was terrible," I admitted. "Marla, as young as she was, was always breathing down my neck. Always waiting for the slightest slip I might make that she could use against me to be Daddy's best daughter."

I didn't see the shadow of a frown pass over the Doctor's face.

"Whenever he looked at me I could feel his love as though it flowed in soft waves from his eyes, his lips, and his heart. How many other orphan girls had a Daddy who appreciated them as much as mine appreciated me? Why shouldn't I do everything he wanted, get anything he needed, be anyone he wanted me to be? Maybe he wasn't my real father, but I existed because of him. That was what my heart told me every day."

I could see on the Doctor's face this troubled him slightly, he didn't understand, but then how could he? He hadn't met the man I knew. No one knew him as the concerned father, the kind friend, the loving man. They just condemned him for being what he was, even if I hadn't known what that was at the time.

"Tell me about your sisters," he said. "I didn't know you had any."

"They weren't my real sisters," I said unnecessarily. "But Morgana was nice. She was always very careful of what she said around me, making sure I was safe, never getting angry. I liked her. But I was always full of questions when I was younger and I could tell it disturbed her. Usually she'd just ignore me or say 'Stop pestering me. You'll know when you know. Try to be more like Ava. Be patient.' I always hated that, always being told to be more like Ava…"

I frowned and I know the Doctor saw the look of resentment on my face because I felt his hand find my shoulder in a gesture of understanding.

"Despite how much Morgana watched over me when I was young, I never had a close relationship with her. I just blamed it on the age gap. I thought I was closer to Ava, although getting close to her wasn't easy, either. Ava always spoke to me in a stinging tone. Every word was like a whip she used against me. Ava was very attractive and very sexy. She could suck the eyes out of admiring men, young or old. I could hear them practically panting as we walked by."

"Met the type, wasn't impressed." The Doctor stated.

I leaned against him thoughtfully. His scent teasing me as I took a deep breath, unknowingly mine did the same to him, enticing him in a way he hadn't experienced in centuries.

"I wanted to be just like Ava," I admitted. "I was always trying to imitate her walk, the way she held her head, even her smile. Was it wrong for me to be in such awe of my own older sister? Was it natural?"

"Of course it was natural. She was your role model. You admired her confidence, there's nothing wrong with that."

"I suppose… Well, as far as I knew, Ava was the only one of us who was Daddy's natural child. She seemed angry when she learned that Daddy had fallen in love with someone and married her. It was as if love was a disease, Daddy had been infected, and she was the result."

"What's wrong with falling in love?" The Doctor asked.

"I asked her the same thing."

"And what was her reason?"

I looked up at him, into the shadow of his eyes and felt my heart skip a beat. He was an attractive man, and the smell of him set my nerve endings on fire. The desire to reach out and touch that face was a strong one. I felt like his face was getting closer to mine, but maybe that was because I was tired. Physically and emotionally.

"What did she say?" he asked again as I watched his lips move.

"Love is poison for us," I recited.

"Poison?" he asked skeptically. "How can it be a poison?"

I realised then that his face _was_ closer to mine, merely a foot away, as if we were slowly being drawn together.

"She said love was an unnatural attachment to another living thing. It's the root cause of most personal problems people have. She said that from love hatched jealousy. And that what hatched along with it was an unrelenting passion and a drive toward possession…"

The Doctor had to admit to himself, he was feeling that passion and drive now, with the soft smell of spun sugar and apples dancing over her skin.

"And?" he asked.

"And men and women of high intelligence will do the most foolish things in pursuit of passion. Because their passion is so all-consuming, they will want to possess the object of that passion. It will drive them to sell out their own family, their own children, and it will motivate them to steal and to kill, to lie and deceive, to connive and reject their basic needs."

"So, in other words, love, in short, was the most dangerous emotion you could experience," he said. "You could have anything you wanted except love."

I hadn't realised I was holding my breath, his face was an inch from mine, and I gasped for oxygen, inhaling his scent, and almost immediately I felt overwhelmed by his presence.

"Yes," I agreed, my breath dancing over his lips.

And when he took a deep breath I realised that my scent affected him as much as his did mine, I saw it in the sudden glint of his eyes, the tensing of his shoulders. Before I had time to react his mouth was on mine, soft and tantalising. I opened my eyes wide in surprise. In the, although short, amount of time I'd spent in his presence he hadn't shown the slightest interest in me and yet, all of a sudden…

His hand made its way to the back of my neck, his fingers curling in my hair and I leaned into him, my body seeking the attention it craved. I heard the growl rise in the back of his throat, as if somewhere in his mind he was trying to fight for some control, and yet his lips danced over mine and I felt his tongue ask for more, I obliged.

We sat there, our upper bodies pasted to each other, our tongues dancing for what felt like ages. His hand was curled in my hair, my arms around his neck. But the sound of Donna's voice calling out his name startled us both.

His head pulled away from mine, the hazy look in his eyes suddenly clearing and I saw the Doctor I knew return. His hand was still clutching tight to my hair at my neck and he held me in place as he stared at me as if trying to decide what I was.

His hand tightened in my hair, pulling at the roots, and my mouth opened in surprise. I saw a look pass through his eyes, one that set my blood boiling and little birds of panic flutter in my chest.

"Doctor? Where the blazes are you?" Donna called closer still, her voice echoing down the hall.

The Doctor unclenched his hand, but didn't remove it from my hair. The look on his face grew dark, intense, and his eyes burned into mine.

"Go," he said, but it came out a low growl.

I sat there, unmoving, chest heaving in my paisley dress. His hand locked tight in my hair again and he brought his mouth to my ear, a growl building in his throat.

"Go," he said again. "Before I change my mind."

The emotion in his voice startled me, the fluttering in my chest turned into a chaotic panic and I slid carefully off the seat, afraid to move too quickly. The look in his eyes was something new to me completely. It was animalistic, starving, and it gave me delicious shivers. He released me, reluctantly, and I found myself hurrying down the ramp away from him, towards the hall, my brown knee boots clacking on the metal caging under my feet. I felt his eyes burning into my back until I was out of his sight.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**


	20. Chapter 20 being revised

**Author's Note: THIS CHAPTER WILL BE UPDATED SOON… you can of course continue reading if you wish, but eventually you'll want to come back and REREAD it because there may be some drastic changes in the chapter. Fair warning. As much as it may suck you may want to hold off and read more later. Don't worry, the update is scheduled for release by 7/13/13.**

**CHAPTER TWENTY**

**XXXMANDYXXX**

"Get up, get up, you lazy pup!" Donna called, entering my room.

I'd slept like crap throughout the night, tossing and turning, wondering about that kiss with the Doctor and what it meant. He'd kissed me. Actually kissed me. But why? When he'd not paid a single bit of attention to me all this time… I groaned sleepily, rolling over and hiding my head under the pillow.

"Miranda Tate! Get out of bed and get dressed we're going to be late!"

"Late for what?" I moaned, the pillow stifling my voice.

"For the movie! Now would you hurry up?"

I pulled the pillow off my head and squealed when I found Donna's face an inch from mine.

"Don't do that!" I shouted rubbing the exhaustion from my eyes. "And since when were we going to a movie?"

"Since ten minutes ago. We're taking you on a trip! To another planet," Donna said with a grin.

I stared at her, her words sinking in. A trip. To the movies. On an alien planet… I jumped out of the bed, sending the blankets everywhere and dashed for the closet. What should I wear? What kind of planet was it? What did the people look like? How did they speak? Or dress?

"Meet us outside the TARDIS as soon as you're ready," Donna said heading for the door.

"Wait! What should I wear?"

"Anything. It's pretty nice out there."

I dragged on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt with some goth girl making a pouty 'O' face with her lips and holding up a dead cartoon fish. 'Fishies go Pook! Pook! Pook!' it read. I laughed at the joke and grabbed a light brown jacket I knew was Martha's since it had her name stitched onto the inside collar. Why she'd left it onboard I didn't know.

I ran out of the room, hopping on one foot as I tried to wrestle on my brown knee boots. My first planet!

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXSHAYEXXX**

"Who the hell are you?" Shaye screamed, her takeout hitting the floor.

A woman with long dark hair turned to stare at her funnily before a look of realisation crossed her face.

"Oh, right! You must be Shaye!" She sat down the large box she was carrying into the hall. "I'm Gwen, Jack said you'd be home soon…"

Shaye stared at her as a man came down the stairs carrying two large boxes. He was thin and pale and had a narrow face. His eyes met hers and he gave her a grin. She looked back at the woman, Gwen, as she brushed aside her bangs.

"Jack…" Shaye said slowly.

The name clicked in her mind with his face. And memories of a long night with him and the woman he called 'Red'. She couldn't actually remember her name now.

"What are you doing here? What's all this stuff?"

"Uhm, well, Miranda's moving…"

"She's what?" Shaye yelled. "No, you're wrong. She'd have told me!"

Gwen had been prepared for this reaction. "Shaye, have you noticed if she's been a bit… different lately?" she asked.

Shaye opened her mouth to speak up but she slowly closed it and looked down at the floor instead.

"It's okay, we know. Listen," Gwen led her into the kitchen to sit down. "Some bad things happened while she was away. But I think you know that… even if you don't know what it was."

Shaye nodded her head mutely.

"And you've also noticed she's probably been different since coming back. Short tempered, sadder, almost lost at times…"

She nodded again.

"Your friend is going through a hard time. She's had a hard life and you know that. You've taken great care of her but now she needs us."

"Why you?" Shaye asked finally looking up, a defiant and angry look in her eyes. "What can you do for her that I can't?"

"I'm sorry; I know this is hard for you…"

"Hard? I've been taking care of her for years! And you think I'm going to trust a complete stranger to take care of her? I come home and you're packing away her things, she hasn't even come home yet! She left last night and I haven't gotten a single call."

"She's with the Doctor," Jack's voice joined the conversation.

Shaye turned towards the voice in the doorway and there stood Jack Harkness, hands in the pockets of his army surplus coat.

Gwen lifted herself from the seat. "I think Ianto needs help. I'll leave you to it then. Oh, and be gentle." She told him passing by him.

"That's not how she likes it," Jack said with a grin.

Gwen gave him a mock-reproving glare and walked out. Shaye stared at him for the longest time before he walked in to take Gwen's chair.

"So," he said. "I suppose, you will want all the gritty details…"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXMANDYXXX**

As we walked down the neon-lit boulevard, I looked up to see the hazy, glowing arc that bisected the night sky over our heads, twinkling against the alien starscape beyond it. It reminded me of a snowfall, but suspended in the air like a freeze-frame image. I blinked and laughed in delight as I realised that there were actually letters imposed on the shimmering band. I picked out a 'W', an 'O' and then another.

"Woo!" I said, reading it aloud. "Ha! Doctor, look! It says 'woo' up there! That's funny."

Donna laughed beside me, reading it as well. Last night's little incident had been shoved to the back of my mind as soon as we'd stepped out the front door. My nervousness of being around him had been replaced immediately by my excitement and curiosity.

The Doctor halted and gave us a lightly mocking _can't-I-take-you-anywhere?_ sort of look.

"Actually, we're only just seeing the end bit of it. The whole thing says 'Hollywood', but the letters are a hundred-odd kilometers high and you have to be in polar orbit to read it all at once." He made a circling gesture with his index finger. "Rings, you know? Like Saturn has in your solar system. Made of ice and rock dust. The owners use photomolecular field generators to hold the letters in place. It certainly makes the planet easier to find."

Donna smirked at him, raising an eyebrow. "There's a planet called Hollywood? Planet Hollywood?"

"Yup," he said popping the 'p'.

He started walking again, hands in the pockets of his big brown coat, skirting through the thronging mass of variant life forms who were also out enjoying the warm evening.

I was still looking upwards. "Oh yeah, the letters are moving, I can see it. Now it says 'Ood'."

"That's an entirely different planet," he said offhandedly. "This one was terraformed in the late twenty-fifth century by a consortium of entertainment businesses; right after the Incorporated Nation of NeoCalifornia was finally destroyed by a super-volcano." He pointed up into the sky. "There's also BollyWorld in the next orbit over, a bunch of Celebra-Stations…"

"What happens there?" Donna asked.

"It's like a safari park, except you get to chase no-talent android celebrities around instead of wild animals."

Donna made a face. "Things haven't changed much in 400 years, then."

He went on. "This place is the best movie capitol of the Milky Way, and it's got the best cinema anywhere, anywhen…"

We nodded, taking it all in. Donna, who'd said she'd seen stranger places, wasn't nearly as overwhelmed as I was. There were so many… peoples. Green ones, blue ones, white ones, some that looked like cats, some that had bear heads, some that looked like living cacti... And in the chaos of chatter, lights, and music I didn't even notice the fact that the Doctor kept looking at me over and over again.

"When Donna said that you were taking me to the movies, I had thought, y'know, we'd stop off at a local multiplex or something…" I dodged to one side, to allow a pack of cheetah-girls in opulent holographic dresses to pass us.

The Doctor turned to face me, walking backwards. "Well, we could. But this place has really smart seats." He moved seamlessly, never once bumping into anybody despite the fact he wasn't looking where he was going. "And I mean really smart, as in _intelligent_. They mould to all your comfort zones, but not so much that you doze off during the good bits. And there's no sticky floors or people talking during the film. Free popcorn as well."

"Choc ices?"

He nodded. "Oh yeah. All the trimmings."

Donna gave him a sly smile. "Ooh, cosy. It's almost like a date."

For a second, the Doctor was slightly wrong-footed. Last night was clearly still in the front of both our minds and our nervousness set in again. Or at least mine did.

"No, not really. Just, uh, three mates, going to see a flick…" He cleared his throat and pointed in the direction of a low dome made of hexagons a short distance away, changing the subject. "They copied the design from a place on Earth, the Cinerama on Sunset Boulevard." He waved at the roof. "I've had a soft spot for it for ages. Defeated an incursion of Geomatide Macros there back in the 1970s. Nasty things, they used the angles of the ceiling tiles as a mathematical hyperspace vector generator…" He trailed off and then clapped his hands. "Right! What do you want to see? They've got everything. _Pirates of the Caribbean VI_? _The Starship Brilliant Story_? _Harry Potter: The Tale of James Potter 2_? _Casablanca_?"

I sighed. "I'm in the mood for a Western." The words popped out of my mouth without me thinking about it. "I haven't seen one in ages." And suddenly, I felt a little bit sad. "When we were kids, me and Marla and Ava, we'd watch a cowboy film every Sunday afternoon. There was always one on, just before lunchtime. Dad would be cooking a joint and making these great roast potatoes, and we could smell it from the living room. We'd all get together, the three of us and Morgana and Dad, and eat during the last half." I sighed. "Funny. It seems like that was a very long time ago. A very long way away." I thought of the family I'd had back then and it felt like there was a vast, yawning distance between now and then. A pang of homesickness tightened in my chest, and my eyes drifted up to the alien sky again. Donna hugged me around the shoulders.

"A Western it is, then," said the Doctor gently. "_Rio Bravo. A Fistful of Dollars. Dances With Wolves…_" He fell silent as we approached the box office. The kiosk was dark and lifeless. "Hang on. This doesn't look right." He fished in his pocket and aimed his sonic screwdriver at the booth. The slender device buzzed, and the door hissed open. He glanced inside and gave a pained groan, returning a moment later with a sheet of electronic paper in his hand.

"What's wrong?" Donna asked.

"Cinema's closed," he replied, showing her the paper. "It seems that last week they were having a disaster film festival, using virtual-environment simulators. Apparently, someone set the dial too high when they were screening _Earthquake!_ And, well… The floor caved in." He sighed. "Still. Better that than _The Towering Inferno_."

I turned and walked back the way we had come, back towards the TARDIS. "It's OK. Never mind."

It was odd; after all, it wasn't as if they were talking about anything serious, right? It was just a _movie_, wasn't it? And yet I felt cheerless, as if something as simple as being able to watch some creaky old Wild West film was the only way I could feel close to the family I'd once had, out here in the depths of space-time, so far away from all I knew.

Donna and the Doctor trailed behind me, stepping up to unlock the door of the police box as we returned to the alley where it had materialized. He seemed to sense my change of mood. "I'm sorry, Mandy."

I tried to make light of it. "Oh, who wants stale popcorn and runny ice cream anyway?" But I couldn't keep the disappointment from my voice.

We entered the wide, domed chamber of the control room, stepping into the thrumming heart of the TARDIS.

All at once, the Doctor's expression changed. He grinned. "You know what? You're right. And I have a much better idea."

He bounded past me to the console that ringed the crystalline central column. Without any apparent order to his actions, the Doctor skipped from panel to panel, flipping switches and spinning dials. Donna and I exchanged glances.

He paused, chewing his lip, and then worked a crank handle.

My momentary melancholy faded before his burst of excitement. I had to smile; the Doctor had a way about him, as if he took each piece of sadness in the universe personally, like he had a sole responsibility to banish the gloom from things.

"What are you up to now?"

He peeked at us from around the column. "Why bother _watching_ the Wild West?" he asked me. "Why bother watching it when we can, _well_…"

"Go there?" Donna suggested.

My smile widened.

The Doctor grabbed the TARDIS's dematerialization control. "Miranda Tate," he said, slamming the lever down, "Saddle up!"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXMARTHAXXX**

"… _I explained everything I could. She's still upset but I think she understands."_

"That's good. I can't imagine how hard it must be."

"_Well, she's moving soon anyway so it should be easier."_

"Good. I'm just putting some final touches on everything here."

"_How's that going?"_

"Well, everything's been freshly painted; the furniture will be here by tomorrow, everything's been turned on…"

Martha readjusted the fresh flowers on the counter in the kitchen; looking everything over to be sure she hadn't missed anything.

"_You __**have**__ been a busy girl haven't you?"_

"It's the least I could do with you all over there packing her things."

"_And there are a __**lot**__ of things."_

"Well, yes, she's lived there a few years."

"_I could use the TARDIS right about now. Or at least some of that Time Lord technology."_

"Speaking of Time Lords have you heard where the Doctor is?"

"_No. I'm sure they'll be there soon though. Unless they make a stop."_

Martha wandered the apartment making sure everything was clean and ready for the furniture move in. Should she leave the windows open over night? She didn't want the apartment to smell of paint and then seep into the furniture tomorrow. But she also didn't want it to be freezing in here by the time Mandy arrived.

"I hope she's okay with all this. We didn't exactly ask her."

"_Don't worry. If I know the Doctor he'll bring her round to the idea before she even knows she's thought about it."_

Martha laughed.

"Yeah. He does that."

"_Jack! Little help here!"_ she heard Gwen shout in the background.

She heard Jack mutter something into the receiver but didn't catch what it was.

"_Coming darling!"_ Jack sarcastically shouted. _"Alright, well we'll be back in Cardiff by tonight."_

"Alright. See you soon."

"_Soon."_

Martha hung up the phone smiling and went to buy herself some coffee from the lobby restaurant.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXMANDYXXX**

Hours later Donna and I were sitting in a saloon, dolled up in fancy dress, and singing along with saloon girls. Outside there were clapboard buildings on either side of the road, shallow single-storey stores and offices made of rough-hewn wooden planks, some with grassy sod on their roof, others with heavy shingles. I'd saw an uneven sidewalk made of cut logs, horses at hitching posts outside, and men and women in period costume going about their business. But they weren't in costumes like Donna and I were. These people were the real thing.

I giggled as men drunkenly sang around us. Men drank at the bar, played cards at tables, made deals in corners, wandered in and out, and disappeared with saloon girls left and right. It was like living through the many movies I'd watched when I was younger. The Doctor was right. This was much better than the movies.

I glanced left and right, taking it all in. "Look at me. I feel like such a tourist. I wish I'd brought a camera," I said to Donna.

She laughed. "Really? And what would you tell people when you showed them the pictures?"

"I'd tell them it's not like it is in the John Wayne movies," I searched the room with my eyes. "Where's the Doctor?"

"Can't remember," Donna admitted. "Something about a sickness and checking it out. Oh, there he is!"

I turned to look the direction Donna was pointing and I smiled seeing him come through the saloon doors.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXTHEDOCTORXXX**

The Doctor placed both hands on the saloon doors at the entrance to the Bluebird and pushed them open with a jaunty flick of his wrist. They flapped open and closed, open and closed, and he stood watching them, beaming.

"Brilliant," he said aloud, reaching out to flap the doors again, his voice lost in the cacophony of the room. "These are great! And they're going to have such a big comeback in the 1970s, believe me. You won't be able to walk into anyone's kitchen without going through a set of these." He puffed out his cheeks and wandered into the saloon proper, taking it all in. He walked in what seemed like an aimless course, finally ending up at the bar. "Hello!" he said brightly, addressing the small fellow in the apron tending the customers. "You know what, I'm parched. I suppose a cuppa is out of the question?"

"Just what you see," came the surly reply.

"Oh-kay," the Doctor scanned the blackboard behind the bartender's head, between the big mirror and the lurid painting of a reclining lady. "Applejack, Redeye, Gut Warmer, Blackstrap." He read out the names of the various hard liquors. "Dust Cutter, Tonsil Varnish, Sudden Death, Tarantula Juice." He paused. "Is that made from real tarantulas? No?" When the bartender said nothing, the Doctor shrugged. "How about a glass of sarsaparilla instead, then?"

The man in the apron grunted and went to get his drink. A few steps down the bar, a man in a broad-brimmed hat and black waistcoat gave the Doctor a sneering look. "Sarsaparilla? Maybe a glass of milk would be more to your likin', English."

"Milk does a body good," replied the Doctor. "Although you're off about the 'English' thing. Funny coincidence, actually. Same accent, different stellar cluster."

The bartender plonked the drink down in front of him. "That'll be a bit," he demanded.

"A bit of what?"

"One bit," growled the man and he held out his hand. "Twelve cents!"

"Oh, money!" The Doctor nodded, and fished in his pockets, pulling out pieces of string, a yo-yo, a pencil, a Japanese bus timetable and his sonic screwdriver. He paused. "Ah. I think I may be, what's the term for it? Temporarily financially embarrassed."

The bartender reached out to take back the drink, but the waist-coated man stopped him. "Leave it, Fess. Put it on my tab."

The Doctor saluted him with the glass. "That's mighty neighborly of you."

The other man picked up the sonic screwdriver before the Doctor could sweep it back into his coat pocket.

"Strange-looking contraption. Bet it's worth a buck or two."

"Or three," he said carefully.

The man touched the brim of his hat with a finger. "Name's Loomis Teague. I'm known hereabouts."

"I'm the Doctor," he replied. "I'm, uh, not."

Teague weighed the sonic in his hands. "Tell you what, Doc. How about you return my goodwill with a little sport?" He nodded in the direction of a table where a group of men were sat over fans of playing cards. "Join us for a game?"

The Doctor spotted Mandy and Donna waving across the room. He nodded at them and turned back to Teague. He lowered his voice. "Like I told Fess there, I am a bit cash-poor at the moment."

Teague's fingers curled around the sonic screwdriver. "Reckon this'll serve just fine as your grubstake."

"That has…sentimental value," he replied. "I'd rather not part with it."

But Teague was already walking away.

"Guess you better have an affinity for the cards then, Doc." Loomis took an empty seat and, as one, all the other players gave the Doctor the same predatory look. Teague pushed a chair out with his boot. "Plant your backside, Coney. We'll go easy on ya."

The gamblers all smirked with harsh humour as the Doctor joined them.

"This is great," he enthused as the saloon girls struck up another song. "I was hoping to find someone to have a chat with, and here we are, with you nice fellows inviting me over to your table." He rubbed his hands. "Excellent stuff!" There were a pile of careworn playing cards lying in front of him, and the Doctor gathered them up. "Um, sorry?" he asked. "Before we get started… What are we playing? Happy Families? Snap?" He peered at the cards and a grin burst out on his face. "Oh, wait, I know this game. It's Top Trumps, isn't it?"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**

**XXXMANDYXXX**

"What is he doing?" Donna wondered noticing the large crowd the Doctor had drawn around him.

"Who knows," I said trying to peer over the many heads. "I need to go, why don't you go see what he's playing at."

"Where are you going?" Donna asked.

"I need to use the ladies' room, I'll be right back."

"I can come with you…"

I shook my head. A chorus of groans rose from the table the Doctor was playing cards. From the sound of the men's voices they weren't happy.

"I think maybe you should go check on him first," I said. "I won't get into nearly as much trouble as I think he is now."

Donna observed the restless, angry men sitting at the Doctor's table and nodded in agreement.

"Alright, but come right back!" Donna said heading for the gambling table.

"Yes, mum!" I teased, hip bumping Donna on my way by.

I headed past the saloon girls standing around the piano and stopped one of the serving girls. We were the same height and her long blonde hair was pulled back in a tumble of curls. Her bright blue eyes met my green ones and I felt something odd pass through me.

"Restroom?" I asked her.

"Up the stairs, third door on the left."

"Thanks." I left her with her eyes following at my back.

Finding the ladies room wasn't a problem. It was the large number of people that were. Walking through the cramped hall space was a pain. I stumbled over the length of my dress and when I finally made it to the bathroom a big man stepped in my way.

"Fancy a drink, missy?"

I looked up into his face, hard cold and angular, there was something dangerous in his eyes. I stepped to the side giving him a polite smile.

"No thank you."

He snatched my wrist on my way by.

"Now hang on. I'm just bein' nice. A pretty lil thing like you must get tired workin' in a place like this. You can come relax in my rooms."

"I don't work here," I told him attempting to pull free. "And I really just need to freshen up."

"The polite thing to say is 'yes, sir'," he growled at me. "When you're offered refreshments by a gentlemen it's custom in these parts to oblige 'im."

I met his eyes with a glare.

"Too bad no gentlemen have offered."

The kind mocking smile on his face fell and he glared at me.

"You'll hold yer tongue, bitch!" he said, slapping me across the face.

I stumbled back in surprise, cradling my face. I felt his hand close like steel around my upper arm and I tried to yank free. _I should have let Donna come with me. I should have let Donna come with me, I shouldn't have come alone._

"Let go!" I yelled, pulling with my arm.

"I think maybe you oughta be taught some manners!"

He pulled me towards the back rooms. The cowboys and saloon girls looked the other way as we passed. I hollered at them to help but it was as if I didn't exist. I tried a different tactic. I lifted my high heeled boot and kicked out at the back of the man's knee. His leg gave with a grunt. I was awarded with another smack across the face.

I cursed myself for my stupidity. I was in a saloon, in an attractive dress, unescorted by either the Doctor or Donna, in the late West. I was asking for trouble the moment I'd put that saloon girl's dress on, I should have stayed in my t-shirt and jeans.

The man threw me into a private room and blocked the door. He gave me a predatory grin that made my stomach rise into my throat. My heart pounded like a rabbits and I felt birds of panic fly in my stomach. I looked around the room. We were on the second floor; there was no way I could jump out the window. The only escape was the door we'd come through. Maybe Donna would come looking for me… Maybe if I just stalled long enough….

The man came towards me, unbuttoning his black vest and revealing a gun at his waist. My eyes were glued to the weapon as he got closer; the sound of his pants buckle brought me back to reality.

"Please," I said. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude. I'm not from around here and…"

"Don' matter now do it, lady?" The man grinned. "My hospitality went out the window wit' that smart mouth o' yers."

"I'm really sorry! Let me make it up to you!" I said desperately, backing away.

"And how're you gonna do that?"

"I can…" I looked around the room again, "sing! I'll sing for you…"

His grin widened.

"Sing? That's all you got?"

"I can cook for you!" I tried again. "There isn't anything I can't cook!"

"Already ate," he said stepping close to me.

I stumbled backwards onto the bed, having no further to go and he was on me in seconds.

"Please!" I screamed. "I'll do anything! Please, just don't do that!"

"But that's all I want!" He growled in my ear, his hands finding the ties at the back of my dress.

The dress came undone with the simple tug of his hand and I caught the front of the dress to keep it covering me. I backed up on the bed hoping I could fend him off with my feet. He laughed at me as I screamed for help, grabbing my ankles and yanking me back towards him. I cringed as his hands went up the full skirt.

Where was Donna? Where was the Doctor? Why wasn't anyone coming to help me? I knew they could hear me screaming out in the hall at least. So why wasn't anyone coming to help? Why… The man's wandering, groping hands froze and his eyes widened in fear. I looked past him at the blonde girl that'd told me where the bathroom was. She had a ladies' fan open at his throat.

"You have three seconds to remove your hands before I remove your head," the girl threatened.

His hands shot out of my dress and he raised them in the air.

"Now, listen. We was jus' havin' some fun! No harm done! Look, she's fine!"

"Save it for someone who gives a shit. Get up," she ordered me, "and go to whatever brought you here."

I stared at her in surprise, _back to whatever brought me here_… _whatever_. She knew I wasn't from this place. I could see it in her eyes she knew I didn't belong in this time.

"Get up and go!" she yelled, bringing me out of my stupor.

I scrambled off the bed, maneuvering my way away from the man. I clung to the dress front to keep it from falling and raced out the door, intending to put as much distance between myself and that man as possible. I stopped halfway down the hall. I turned expecting to see her coming right behind me, she wasn't. I looked at the many people in the hall, still avoiding looking at me, and I felt my temper flare. I ran back to the room and stopped cold.

The man had somehow turned the tables and instead of him being the prisoner, she was. I saw the look of sheer terror in her eyes even from here. The ladies' fan she'd had was across the room, lying unfurled and useless. His hands ripped at the skirts, tearing them easily in his drunken state. She fought him tooth and nail but it did her the same amount of good as it had me. I guessed it was my turn now. I grabbed the nearest thing to me, a large ceramic vase, heavy and solid.

I carried it quietly across the room to them, bashing it over his head. Pieces of pottery flew everywhere and I saw the blood start to flow at the back of his head before he'd even hit the floor. The girl looked at me in desperate appreciation and shock.

"I told you to get out of here!" She yelled shoving the groaning man off.

"You're welcome!" I said annoyed as she grabbed my hand.

I yanked the dress back up to cover me again as she pulled me towards the door. The door exploded with a bang and splinters of wood. I had just enough time to look back and see the man pointing his gun at us, the other hand clutching his head. She yanked me faster, pulling me along as people in the hall panicked at the sound of gunfire.

"Shouldn't we find the sheriff or something?" I asked.

"You just bashed a vase _over_ the sheriff's head."

Another shot went off and I felt a trail of heat pass by my right ear. Men and women ran in different directions, they're shouts of surprise alerting the people downstairs. Those with morals came up to help, those just wanting to get the hell out of there started running for exits.

"You have to go!" the girl yelled, shoving me ahead of her.

"What about you?" I asked, terrified as people raced around us.

"I'll be fine! My ships out back," she said.

"Ship?"

"Spaceship! I'm guessing that's how you got here too!"

"I… I… I…" I spluttered seeing the man pointing his gun right at us.

We were standing ducks.

"Tell me where you're from!" she said shoving me along, drawing attention away from the man as another shot fired and she shoved me out of the way.

"E-Earth."

"Great. What time was it when you left?"

"Eleven? Midnight? I don't remember! We're being shot at!"

She shoved me towards the stairs to the lower level, constantly checking behind her. She shoved people out of the way to get us through.

"No _day_! What _day_ was it? What's the timeline?"

"Umm, 2010. August 2010! Th-the 20th!"

"Great! What's your name?" She asked punching someone in the face as they swung at us in drunken stupidity.

Fist fights were breaking out all over the place. I could no longer see the man that was shooting and women screamed left and right. I couldn't see or hear Donna or the Doctor. _They wouldn't leave me would they? No, no of course they wouldn't! They came for me before. They won't leave me now, not here._

"Your name!" She shouted taking down another man.

Her fighting skills were impressive, her accuracy more so. She knew just where to hit to disarm someone or render them unconscious. In part she was avoiding using violence quite well, dodging a hit so that someone else took it. She pulled her hair back into a high pony to get it out of her face.

"Mandy. Miranda Tate."

"Nice to meet you, Miranda Tate! _Now_ that's the exit! Go straight out and don't turn around! Find whoever you came with and go home!"

She raced for a back exit as I ran for the front, her long blonde hair bouncing. I ducked out of the path of men who were shoved into tables. Someone caught me around the arm and I screamed in terror.

"It's me! It's me!" The Doctor yelled shoving me ahead of him. "Just keep moving."

He was aiming his screwdriver at every gun he saw, causing the metal to grow hot and fall out of men's hands. We made it out of the exit and he raced me along, back to where the TARDIS was. Donna was hovering outside the door looking nervous and irritable.

"Where the hell have you two been?" She yelled.

"I couldn't find her in that mess!" The Doctor yelled back.

"What happened?!" she yelled at me. "What happened to your dress?"

The Doctor ushered us inside and headed for the console. I clung to my dress to keep it on as Donna attempted to relace the back.

"Sorry, it got snagged in the fighting," I made up.

"What were you thinking?" He asked me as he managed the controls. "Why didn't you take Donna with you?"

"I was just going…"

"I know where you were going, that doesn't change the fact that you could have been killed in there!"

"I'm sorry, I…"

"You can't just go wandering off by yourself! Do you understand that? When you are traveling with me I'm responsible for keeping you safe."

"Doctor, I…"

"No! It doesn't matter! I'm taking you home. I shouldn't have brought you here at all." He stormed around the console whacking levers and slamming buttons. "Twice now…Twice!"

I felt the TARDIS's wave of irritation.

"Don't you start with me!" he yelled at the ship.

I stared at him, holding back unshed tears of fear and frustration. He was right, but that didn't make it fair. I'd simply meant to use the restroom. I hadn't wandered off just because I'd fancied a nice walk in the saloon. I'd almost been _raped_. If that girl hadn't come to look for me… and if I hadn't went back for her… I looked at Donna.

She looked caught between us. I could see she wanted to sympathise with me, that she understood that I hadn't meant to cause trouble or worry them, but I could also see she wanted to take his side. She was his companion, she'd traveled with him a long while and understood him better than most. But it wasn't my _fault_… I hadn't done _anything_ to draw attention to myself… I just went for the _toilet_!

I'd intended to tell the Doctor about the girl that'd helped me. The girl with the spaceship. The girl that knew I wasn't from that time. But now he could just sod off because it wasn't important now. Right now I had a defense to make.

"Oh, but you just go and take off leaving us alone to begin with. And then come back to gamble? You may be a Time Lord but I'm also a Time Lady! And if I want to go to the bathroom by myself I will! I don't need a goddamn escort to pee!"

He stormed over at incredible speed, towering over me, a dark glint in his eyes. He brought his face down to mine, to really see the extent of his anger, an anger that burned to the core.

"You are _not_ a Time Lady," he said lowly. "You are a Gallifreyan! You didn't look into the untempered schism, you weren't trained, and you didn't go to the academy. You are a _fragment_ of what it means to be a Time Lady! And _don't_ forget it! As long as you are traveling with me you travel by my rules!"

"Doctor!" Donna tried to intervene, seeing the look on my face. "That's not fair…"

"Life. Isn't. Fair." He enunciated. "And there won't be any delusions about it on my ship!" He turned back to me. "You could have been hurt in there. Do you understand that? You could have been kidnapped, you could have been killed!" I took two steps back from him. "You could have _died _and it would have been _my_ fault. _My_ fault for not keeping my eye on you. _My_ fault for not protecting you. _My_ fault for letting you wander off. _My_ fault for bringing you in the first place!"

"_My_ fault for thinking I'd found somewhere I finally belonged," I said quietly. "_My_ fault for believing I had a chance."

I walked away from him. Neither said anything to me as I left the room and went to change into my normal clothes. I was so… _so_ angry! I felt so let down, so frustrated. I wasn't just mad at him, I was mad at myself. He was right. He was always right.

It was stupid of me to wander off. I did get hurt, though it was mostly by the Doctor's words. I did get kidnapped by that man. I would have been raped by him if not for that girl. I could have been killed if she hadn't helped me get out of there. But that didn't change what I now knew he thought of me.

A fragment… I was the daughter of Lerayonnantreine. A true child of Gallifrey. But the Doctor? The man who hid his name so carefully… or maybe he didn't have a name… either way, who was he to tell me I was lesser than him? What made him _more_ than I was? Education? Was it that important?

Was that how he really saw me? As a fragment? Something defective and lacking and failing that he was saddled with now? Maybe it was. Maybe I was. Maybe I'd never live up to it all. Maybe I'd never get it right. _I try so hard. But I always seem to make some gigantic blunder. Why do I have to mess up all the time? I can't see time like I should or think like I should or fight like I should;_

"_You are a __**fragment**__ of what it means to be a Time Lady!"_

My eyes stung and my chest felt as if it had ten atmospheres of pressure inside it. I slammed my fist into the wall; then let my head fall into my hands.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX**


End file.
